Design
The new bridge was designed in reinforced concrete by architect Sir Herbert Baker and engineer Alfred Dryland, with additional input from Considère Constructions, at the time Britain's leading specialist in reinforced concrete construction.
The bridge has concrete foundations supporting a five-arch cellular reinforced concrete superstructure. The deck is supported by a concealed lattice of columns and beams rising from the arched superstructure. The structure is faced with 3,400 tons of Portland stone, except for underneath the arches. The bridge is 606 feet (185 m) long, and carries two 15-foot (4.6 m) wide walkways, and a 40-foot (12 m) wide road. At the time it was built, the 150-foot (46 m) central span was the longest concrete span over the Thames.
Unusually for a Thames bridge, only three of Chiswick Bridge's five spans cross the river; the shorter spans at each end of the bridge cross the former towpaths. To allow sufficient clearance for shipping without steep inclines, the approach roads to the bridge are elevated from some distance back from the river.
The bridge was built by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company at a cost of £208,284 (about £10,960,000 as of 2012). Additional costs such as building the approach roads and purchasing land brought the total cost of the bridge to £227,600 (about £11,977,000 as of 2012). The Ministry of Transport paid 75% of the cost, with Surrey and Middlesex county councils paying the remainder.
The bridge was generally well received. Country Life praised the design as "reflecting in its general design the eighteenth century Palladian tradition of Lord Burlington's famous villa at Chiswick".
Read more about this topic: Chiswick Bridge
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