19th-century London a network of smaller tunnels away from the River Thames and out of Central London, towards the Northern Outfall Sewer at Beckton in East London. The Victoria Embankment also allowed an extension of the Metropolitan District Line underground to be built, from Westminster east to Blackfriars. In total, the Victoria Embankment reclaimed over 37 acres of land from the Thames, allowing a broad east-west boulevard to be built and a series of public gardens. All three sections of the Thames Embankment are faced in grey granite, mounted with handsome cast iron lamps, and lined with London plane trees. In 1878,
Millennium Bridge, London set into each bank—enough to support a working load of 5,000 people on the bridge at one time. Ordinarily, bridges across the River Thames require an Act of Parliament. For this bridge, that was avoided by the Port of London Authority granting a licence for the structure obtaining planning permissions from the City of London and London Borough of Southwark. Construction began in late 1998 and the main works were started on 28 April 1999 by Monberg & Thorsen and Sir Robert McAlpine. The bridge was completed at a cost of £18.2M (£2.2M over budget), primarily paid for by the