Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge  was opened on June 30, 1894 by the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, and it represents one of the symbols of London. Completed in 1892, it took eight years, five major contractors and relentless labour of 432 construction workers to build it.

The installation of the glass floor across the high level walk-away is the most significant change to the Exhibition since it first opened in 1982. This amazing new feature allows visitors to have a spectacular view not only on London life but also on the bridge mechanism and even to experience watching the bascules being raised, just above the River Thames.

Glassolutions won the contract to design and manufacture the (one-way) glass, which has been inserted into the floor of each of the two 11.5 meter long walkways on the Tower Bridge. The existing floors were removed and a steel frame was installed into which the new 80 mm thick glass floor panels comprising seven layers of glass were inserted: PLANITHERM ULTRA N II low-E laminated glass, DIAMANT extra-flint glass and LITEFLOOR anti-skid glass, making the new structure able of withstanding the weight of six elephants!

This achievement can be credited to the performance of the Glassolutions teams combined with the knowledge of the Tower Bridge engineers. This new glass floor was installed without any disruption to the bridge’s vehicle or pedestrian traffic, or the river traffic below. From anywhere in London you can see one of the most spectacular London sights which is the Tower Bridge. The one place where you couldn’t see what it was happening is right in the walkways, now you can have that experience within a unique and spectacular way!