Tower Bridge as its northern landfall is in Tower Hamlets. The bridge consists of two bridge towers tied together at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, designed to withstand the horizontal tension forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the landward sides of the towers. The vertical components of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. Before its restoration in the 2010s, the bridge's colour scheme dated from 1977, when
Tower Bridge behind the Olympic rings. The sound travelled backwards and forwards along the walkway, echoing the structure of the bridge. Following the Olympics, the rings were removed from Tower Bridge and replaced by the emblem of the Paralympic Games for the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Tower Bridge was closed to all road traffic for almost three months in late 2016 (1 October to 30 December). This was to allow structural maintenance work to take place. The work included: During this time the bridge was still open to water borne traffic as required by Act of Parliament. The bridge was open to pedestrians