If you are a Londoner, you probably are well aware of the fact that East London seems to be devoid of any bridges. Perhaps you may have thought that it was some type of planning mistake or maybe, politics were involved somehow.
Of course, you don’t have to be from London to find it interesting that there are so many bridges that cross on the west side of London but on the east side, there are none. As it turns out, there are specific reasons why and Jay Foreman wants to tell you, along with adding a little humor.
He talks about how you are “spoiled for choice” when it comes to crossing the river Thames on the west side. When you get to the Eastside, however, he calls the river Thames your “wet nemesis.”
If you have been unaware of that fact, you’re probably wondering why London seems to be so lopsided when it comes to the ability to cross over the river. Fortunately, Foreman has looked into it and he seems to have the answer.
When you look at the river itself, you see that on the west side, it is a lot narrower. It was easier to build bridges across the Thames on the west side. In addition, the shipping companies had a large say when it came to building and bridge construction in the 1800s.
It turns out that the shipping companies thought that it was just too expensive to put too many bridges in and they felt that the residents of East London didn’t need another way to cross the river.
Something else that Foreman does is to look at the history of the crossings in London. In addition, there are plans for other bridges and tunnels that would connect the two sides of the river on the east side of London. Some were successful and others derailed because of the world wars and other issues.
You can see more and enjoy learning with a laugh in the following video: