Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge is a road bridge over the River Thames, built between 1939 and 1945, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, with engineering by Rendel, Palmer and Tritton, and constructed by Peter Lind and Company.

The bridge features a closed-spandrel multiple-arch design. It has four hollow piers that rest on 2-meter-thick concrete slabs located 10.5 meters below the riverbed, supporting five shallow spans. Two parallel reinforced concrete arches support a reinforced concrete beamed deck. The piers are faced with granite salvaged from the old bridge, while the arch springers, spandrel walls, and parapet are clad in Portland stone.

Measuring 24 meters in width, the bridge has three spans of 75 meters and two spans of 72 meters. The piers are 35 meters long and 5 meters wide. Each segmental-arched span is supported by boat-shaped cutwaters with faceted, broached buttresses at the arch springs. The Portland stone facing is simply detailed, with chamfered arches and a parapet featuring a ribbed band in high relief, along with steel guard rails. The projecting quadrant abutments include dog-leg stone stairs leading down to the Embankment.

Additionally, a section of the balustrade and two Doric columns from Rennie’s old bridge are preserved in the southern abutment, along with the base of a pier beneath the northern arch, which is topped by a commemorative plaque.