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Information:
This London Bridge, before it was moved to Arizona, was a stone bridge which replaced an earlier wood and stone bridge. This new bridge, built in 1830, was designed by Scottish architect John Rennie, known in Britain for large projects like canals, bridges, and massive industrial docks. Rennie′s neoclassical bridge design featured five equal-sized masonry arches supported by massive piers.
This stone bridge when constructed in London was built with heavy granite material and as it was being build, it was already sinking in the soft soil of the River Thames. By the time of its completion, one end of the bridge had already sunk by one foot which sinking continue in the amount of an inch every eight to ten years.
Driving Directions:
The bridge is located in Lake Havasu City, New Mexico and carries McCulloch Boulevard across the Bridgewater Channel canal to the manmade island. It can be accessed from IH 40 in Arizona by taking exit 9 and then driving 19.5 miles south.
Location:
Coordinates:
34.471679, -114.347178
Elevation:
446 feet
Bridge Specification
Bridge Type:
Concrete Five Arch Deck Bridge
Reinforced concrete structure clad with original masonry of 1830s bridge.
Date Open:
1971
Total Length:
930 feet
Deck Width:
feet
Main Span Length:
150 feet;
Crosses:
Bridgewater Channel
Clearance Above:
(Vehicle Clearance) Open
Clearance Below:
(Vessel Clearance) 34.5 feet.
Cost to Build:
$2.46 million
Cost to Purchase:
$2.46 million
Cost to Transport and Build:
$4.5 million
Total Cost:
$7.96 million
Robert McCulloch:
Robert McCulloch bought the bridge from the city of London, had the bridge disassembled with the many granite blocks numbered, shaved about eight inches of the thickness off each block and then proceeded to transport the granite blocks to Arizona.
Once the granite blocks arrive at Lake Havasu City, the bridge was reconstructed by attaching the blocks to the outside of a previously built steel reinforced concrete bridge structure.
(m4bridge-arch-az-londonbridge) Concrete structure of bridge
Photo: HavasuNews.com
Bridgewater Channel:
The new London Bridge was build on dry land and at some time later, a channel was dug under the five arches forming a small cove in the area of the bridge and the channel continue in both directions to the Colorado River creating an island to which the bridge crossed to, which channel was named Bridgewater channel.
(m4bridge-arch-az-lakehavasucity) Concrete structure of bridge
Photo: Google maps
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