{"id":772076,"date":"2025-01-28T09:48:57","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T09:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=772076"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:48:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T09:48:57","slug":"fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works","title":{"rendered":"Foster\u2019s \u2018slippery\u2019 Millennium Bridge facing fresh works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Among other works, the iconic pedestrian bridge across the River Thames requires resurfacing, as its aluminium decking has become slippery after years of footfall.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citybridgefoundation.org.uk\/\">City Bridge Foundation<\/a> is procuring a contractor to carry out the works to the 325m-long suspension bridge \u2013 which could cost up to \u00a33.5 million \u2013 to \u2018ensure [that it] remains safe for people to use\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The Millennium Bridge was completed in June 2000 but almost immediately closed for 18 months due to lateral movement caused by synchronised footfall.<\/p>\n<p>The structure\u2019s second spruce-up will involve three strands: all steel areas to be painted and all suspension cables to be re-tensioned, on top of the re-surfacing works.<\/p>\n<p>The City Bridge Foundation said: \u2018Owing to high footfall over the bridge, the slip-resistance of the top surface of the deck has reduced and in some places the texture has completely worn away.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The project will introduce a new surface coating to each deck plank to improve this slip-resistance.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The body said in a tender notice that contractors should \u2018explore alternative solutions and approaches\u2019 in order to keep the crossing open as much as possible.<\/p>\n<p>The notice added: \u2018As a key river crossing it is important that disruption to the users of the bridge is minimised throughout the work.\u2019<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A City Bridge Foundation spokesperson said: \u2018Millennium Bridge marks its 25th birthday this year and, with thousands of people walking over it every day, that inevitably takes its toll.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018The aluminium bridge deck is beginning to become worn, meaning it is now smoother and more slippery than it used to be, so we need to act now to ensure the bridge remains safe for people to use.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018To ensure the work is as sustainable as possible, we\u2019re asking potential contractors to remove, clean and replace all the existing aluminium bridge deck panels, which will be covered with a non-slip coating.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018The work, which we expect to begin by the spring, will also see repainting of the metallic surfaces of the bridge and tightening-up of the suspension cables which support the bridge deck.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018We\u2019re currently considering proposals from a number of companies and, when we have appointed a contractor, will announce further details of when the work will start, how long it will take and any temporary closure that might be required.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Designed by Foster + Partners and Arup, the Millennium Bridge links St Paul\u2019s Cathedral with the Tate Modern gallery.<\/p>\n<p>After its disastrous start, the crossing was re-opened to the public in February 2002 with significant modifications, such as tuned mass dampers to reduce both vertical and horizontal vibrations and viscous dampers to resist sway movements.<\/p>\n<p>The tender opportunity has closed to bids and the contract is slated to begin in February.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_616862\" class=\" wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1034px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-616862 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/11075345\/shutterstock_dafinka-city-of-london-school-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Millennium Bridge<\/p>\n\t<p class=\"inline_image_source\" style=\"max-width: 1034px;\">Source:Dafinka\/Shutterstock<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Among other works, the iconic pedestrian bridge across the River Thames requires resurfacing, as its aluminium decking has become slippery after years of footfall. The City Bridge Foundation is procuring a contractor to carry out the works to the 325m-long suspension bridge \u2013 which could cost up to \u00a33.5 million \u2013 to \u2018ensure [that it] &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104183,"featured_media":772355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[1925,1334,1181,5277],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Foster\u2019s \u2018slippery\u2019 Millennium Bridge facing fresh works<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Foster + Partners\u2019 Millennium Bridge in central London is facing millions of pounds\u2019 worth of refurbishment works ahead of its 25th birthday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Foster\u2019s \u2018slippery\u2019 Millennium Bridge facing fresh works\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Foster + Partners\u2019 Millennium Bridge in central London is facing millions of pounds\u2019 worth of refurbishment works ahead of its 25th birthday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-28T09:48:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/28091203\/Shutterstock_2429961801-1024x683.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Pitcher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Pitcher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works\",\"name\":\"Foster\u2019s \u2018slippery\u2019 Millennium Bridge facing fresh works\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-28T09:48:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-28T09:48:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/c5f471fbead58bba9e957a8f0a08d195\"},\"description\":\"Foster + Partners\u2019 Millennium Bridge in central London is facing millions of pounds\u2019 worth of refurbishment works ahead of its 25th birthday\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/fosters-slippery-millennium-bridge-facing-fresh-works#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Foster\u2019s \u2018slippery\u2019 Millennium Bridge facing fresh works\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News &amp; 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