Wandsworth Bridge crosses the River Thames in west London. It carries the A217 road between the areas of Battersea, nearWandsworth Town Station, in the London Borough of Wandsworth on the south of the river, and the areas of Sands End andParsons Green, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side.

The first bridge on the site was a toll bridge built by Julian Tolmé in 1873, in the expectation that the western terminus of theHammersmith and City Railway would shortly be built on the north bank, leading to a sharp increase in the number of people wanting to cross the river at this point. The railway terminus was not built, and problems with drainage on the approach road made access to the bridge difficult for vehicles. Wandsworth Bridge was commercially unsuccessful, and in 1880 it was taken into public ownership and made toll-free. Tolmé's bridge was narrow and too weak to carry buses, and in 1926 a Royal Commission recommended its replacement.

In 1937 Tolmé's bridge was demolished. The present bridge, an unadorned steel cantilever bridge designed by Sir Pierson Frank, was opened in 1940. At the time of its opening it was painted in dull shades of blue as camouflage against air raids, a colour scheme it retains. Although Wandsworth Bridge is one of the busiest bridges in London, carrying over 50,000 vehicles daily, it has been described as "probably the least noteworthy bridge in London".

1873 bridge

The company was unable to finance the building of Ordish's design, and in 1870 a new Act of Parliament was passed giving the company permission to build a bridge 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, crossing the river with five spans. Ordish was asked to design a cheaper bridge to the new specifications but refused to change the design, so Julian Tolmé was appointed designer in his place. Tolmé designed a starkly functional lattice truss bridge of wrought iron. It cost £40,000 (about £3.2 million in 2015) to build, and consisted of five identical spans, supported by four pairs of concrete-filled iron piers; each of the cylindrical piers was sunk 14 feet (4.3 m) into the riverbed. The bridge was due to open in early 1873, but the workmen building it went on strike, and a third Act of Parliament was necessary to give the company time to resolve the dispute and complete the project.

Wandsworth Bridge was formally opened in a small ceremony in 1873, and a celebratory buffet was provided at the nearby Spread Eaglepub. A utilitarian structure made of mismatched materials purchased for cheapness, the response to the new bridge was unenthusiastic; the Illustrated London News remarked at the time of its opening that "No attempt has been made to produce architectural effect, the structure being substantial rather than ornamental". A ¹⁄₂d toll was charged on pedestrians, and carts were charged 6d.

In 1867 the formerly independent Hammersmith and City Railway was absorbed by the Metropolitan Railway and the Great Western Railway, and was operated from then on by Metropolitan Railway trains. The plan for a terminus in Fulham was abandoned, and the line instead turned west at Hammersmith to run over London and South Western Railwaytracks to Richmond. Although Wandsworth Town railway station, near the southern end of the bridge, had provided direct connections to central London since 1846, the lack of rail connections opening on the north bank meant the area on the Fulham side remained undeveloped, and bridge usage was low. Tolmé's design was not sturdy enough to carry heavy vehicles, and drainage problems on the approach road to the north discouraged vehicles from using Wandsworth Bridge.

1940 bridge

In 1935, the Ministry of Transport agreed to finance 60 percent of the projected £503,000 (about £31.2 million in 2015) cost of a replacement bridge, and the London County Council approved a new design, by Sir Pierson Frank, for a three-span steel cantilever bridge 60 feet (18 m) in width, allowing two lanes of traffic in each direction, and designed to allow widening to 80 feet (24 m) if necessary. The design featured distinctive low curves, intended to reflect the low riverbanks in the area. The design was presented to the Royal Fine Art Commission for approval, with a covering note stating that "in the design of the bridge a severe simplicity of treatment has been carried out, expressed in a technique essentially related to the material proposed for its construction". Although the Commission expressed concern that the bridge might be too narrow, the design was approved. The work was put out for tender, with a stipulation that all materials used in the construction of the new bridge should be of British origin or manufacture.

The contract for the new bridge was awarded to Messrs Holloway Brothers (London), and work began in 1937. A temporary footbridge that had been used during the redevelopment of Chelsea Bridge between 1935 and 1937 was re-erected alongside Wandsworth Bridge, and the existing bridge demolished. The new bridge was expected to be complete in 1939; however, a shortage of steel in the buildup to the Second World War delayed its opening until 25 September 1940. The steel panels cladding the bridge were painted in varying shades of blue to camouflage it from German and Italian air raids, a colour scheme it retains today. Although it is one of London's busiest bridges, carrying over 50,000 vehicles per day,  its drab colour scheme and minimalist design have led to it being described as "probably the least noteworthy bridge in London".

Sumber :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandsworth_Bridge