Facts about Thames Barrier elaborate the information about the barrier, which presents the floodplain in London. Since 1984, the Thames Barrier has been operated. Therefore, the storm surges and high tides from the North Sea will never flood the Greater London. When the Thames Barrier is open, the flow of the water to the sea will be restored. During the high tide, the Thames Barrier will be raised or closed. Find out other interesting facts about Thames Barrier below:
Facts about Thames Barrier 1: the location
The location of Thames Barrier is 1.9 miles or 3 kilometers at the east side of Isle of Dogs.
Facts about Thames Barrier 2: the plan of Thames Barrier
The plan about having Thames Barrier came up due to the North Sea Flood, which took place in 1953. It affected many areas of London and Thames Estuary according to the report of Sir Hermann Bondi.
Thames Barrier
Facts about Thames Barrier 3: Charles Draper
Have you ever heard about Charles Draper? He was the person who created a concept of rotating gates. The working model was created by Draper at his parents’ house in London in 1969.
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Facts about Thames Barrier 4: the design of the Thames Barrier
Rendel, Palmer and Tritton for the Greater London Council were the ones responsible to design the Thames Barrier.
Facts about Thames Barrier 5: the selection of the site
New Charlton was selected as the site for Thames Barrier due to the strong support from the underlying river chalk and relative straightness of the banks.
Thames Barrier facts
Facts about Thames Barrier 6: the beginning of the construction
The construction of Thames Barrier took place in 1974. It ended in 1982. A Costain/Hollandsche Beton Maatschappij/Tarmac Construction consortium had the responsibility as the constructor of the barrier. Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd created the gates of Thames Barrier.
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Facts about Thames Barrier 7: the opening
Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Thames Barrier on May 8, 1984. The cost for the construction reached £534 million. The river defenses took £100 million. The river is divided by the barrier into four sections with the length of 200 feet and two sections for the navigable spans with the length of 100 feet.
Facts about Thames Barrier 8: closing the barrier
On November 9th, 2006, the Thames Barrier was closed twice because of the North Sea’s storm surge.
Facts about Thames Barrier
Facts about Thames Barrier 9: damages
The damages on the barrier occurred when one of the piers of the barriers was hit by dredger MC Sand Kite on October 27th, 1997.
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Facts about Thames Barrier 10: operation
Thames Water Authority operated the Thames Barrier after Greater London Council was abolished in 1986. Until April 1996, it was under the operation of National Rivers Authority. Then Environment Agency Future has the responsibility.
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