19th-century London (1819), Waterloo Bridge (1817), the Hungerford Bridge (opened in 1845 as a footbridge, and converted in 1859 into a combination footbridge/railway bridge for Charing Cross Station), and Tower Bridge (1894). Further upriver, the new bridges included Lambeth Bridge (1862), which replaced a centuries-old cross-river ferry service, Vauxhall Bridge (opened 1816), Victoria Bridge (opened in 1858 and later renamed the Chelsea Bridge), and Wandsworth Bridge (1873). The impetus for this building was London's massive population growth, which put a constant strain on existing communications between the north and south banks. London Bridge remained the city's busiest artery for the entire century,
London Bridge used are 150 to 200 millimetres (6 to 8 inches) thick. Some of the stones from the bridge were left behind at Merrivale Quarry at Princetown in Devon. When Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stones were sold in an online auction. The current London Bridge was designed by architect Lord Holford and engineers Mott, Hay and Anderson. It was constructed by contractors John Mowlem and Co from 1967 to 1972, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 March 1973. It comprises three spans of prestressed-concrete box girders, a total of long. The