Tower Bridge flooded on Tuesday amid heavy rainfall, with images and footage showing cars, cyclists and pedestrians struggling through the downpour.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for London and much of the east of England on Tuesday, with rain set to cause disruption for travellers throughout the day. Wednesday is due to be drier, forecasts say.
It appears the problem could be down to anti-terrorist measures put in place after the attacks on two other London bridges in 2017. Authorities tried to fix this issue three years ago, but it appears that this may not have been totally effective.
In response to a question by Keith Prince, a London assembly member for the Conservatives, in 2018, Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Following the terrorist attacks on Westminster and London Bridge in 2017, it was necessary for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to install permanent barriers along various bridges in central London, including Tower Bridge.
“Unfortunately, a number of the barriers on Tower Bridge have blocked the gullies and led to a build-up of standing water. The MPS has been working with Transport for London to address this issue and, on 20 November 2018, barriers were removed to clear the drainage system of any blockages and clean the surrounding area. Barriers were then put back in place, but with alterations to ensure more water can flow into the gullies in the future.”
Tube services were also been affected on the District Line earlier today, but services are now running normally again. There were also reports of flooding on the North Circular road.
Not 100% sure how a *bridge* floods, but this was Tower Bridge just now. pic.twitter.com/YCUOBcPD18
— Georgia O'Brien (@georgiacobrien) September 14, 2021
There is always standing water there after a rain shower. It’s an embarrassment to the bridge management that it takes national news coverage in order for them to fix it.