An 1866 crisis over succession to the Bahawalpur throne markedly increased British influence in the princely state. Bahawalpur was constituted as a municipality in 1874. The city's Noor Mahal palace was completed in 1875. In 1878, Bahawalpur's 4,285-foot long Empress Bridge was opened as the only rail crossing over the Sutlej River. Bahawalpur's Sadiq Egerton College was founded in 1886. Bahalwapur's Nawabs celebrated the Golden Jubillee of Queen Victoria in 1887 in a state function at the Noor Mahal palace. Two hospitals were established in the city in 1898. In 1901, the population of the city was 18,546.