
The Millennium bridge, opened in 2000, connecting both sides of Thames river.
This is the Millennium Bridge in London, England. Originally opened in 2000, this pedestrian bridge connects both sides of Thames river. You can walk from the City of London to Bankside. The building you see in the backgroud here is the St. Paul?s Cathedral on the City side of the river.
Planners designed the bridge to have a low profile to improve the view from it and came up with a very low profile for the bridge. However the suspension bridge design to achieve this caused the bridge to wobble when pedestrians crossed it. Apparently people have unconscious habit to matching their footsteps to the wobble, causing a suspension bridge to wobble even more. That phenomenon is known also when troops cross a suspension bridge marching in sync. Therefore troops are required not to march in sync when they cross a such bridge.
Therefore the Millennium Bridge was closed shortly before opening, earning it the nickname “Wobbly bridge”. They even tried to limit the number of people of the bridge but obviously that didn?t work so well in huge city like London. So eventually the bridge was modified not to be wobbly anymore.
So, this photo is taken from the Bankside end of the bridge. Here the walkway “folds” down to the streetlevel along the centerline of the bridge, creating a nice photo opportunity where the bridge seems to be leading directly to the St. Paul?s Cathedral itself.
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This is the Millennium Bridge on the map: