Bridge Madness 2026 – Championship

Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 bridges that cross the Thames River in London go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features bridges visited by urbantraipsing on a 2012 bridge-walking expedition.

Results of the Final Four:

  • Tower Bridge vs. Albert Bridge – 71% to 29%
  • Millennium Bridge vs. Westminster Bridge – 57% to 43%

Below is the Championship bracket. Remember to vote for your favorite bridge by noon on Saturday, March 28th, and then return on March 29th to see the Champion.

To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.

The Bridges

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Bridge Madness 2026 – Final Four

Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 bridges that cross the Thames River in London go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features bridges visited by urbantraipsing on a 2012 bridge-walking expedition.

Results of the Elite Eight:

  • Tower Bridge vs. London Bridge – 92% to 8%
  • Albert Bridge vs. Chelsea Bridge – 92% to 8%
  • Millennium Bridge vs. Blackfriars Bridge – 55% to 45%
  • Lambeth Bridge vs. Westminster Bridge – 30% to 70%

Below are the brackets for the Final Four. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Saturday, March 21st, and then return on March 12th to vote for the Championship.

To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.

The Bridge Brackets

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Bridge Madness 2026 – Elite Eight

Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 bridges that cross the Thames River in London go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features bridges visited by urbantraipsing on a 2012 bridge-walking expedition.

Results of the Sweet Sixteen:

  • Battersea Railway Bridge vs. Tower Bridge – 24% to 76%
  • Battersea Bridge vs. London Bridge – 43% to 57%
  • Albert Bridge vs. Cannon Street Bridge – 100% to 0%
  • Chelsea Bridge vs. Southwark Bridge – 67% to 33%
  • Grosvenor Bridge vs. Millennium Bridge – 38% to 62%
  • Vauxhall Bridge vs. Blackfriars Bridge – 33% to 67%
  • Lambeth Bridge vs. Waterloo Bridge – 92% to 8%
  • Westminster Bridge vs. Jubilee Bridges – 58% to 42%

Below are the brackets for the Elite Eight. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Saturday, March 14th, and then return on March 15th to vote for the Final Four.

To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.

The Bridge Brackets

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Bridge Madness 2026 – Sweet Sixteen

Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 bridges that cross the Thames River in London go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features bridges visited by urbantraipsing on a 2012 bridge-walking expedition. Below are the brackets for the Sweet Sixteen. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Saturday, March 7th, and then return on March 8th to vote for the Elite Eight.

To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.

The Bridges

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Bridge Madness 2026 – Introduction

Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 London bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. I engaged with approximately 18 bridges across the River Thames on my last trip to London. Because the Blackfriars Station Railway Bridge was under construction when I was there, it is not included in this tournament. The Jubilee-Hungerford Bridges are either 1 or 3 bridges depending on how you count them. For the purposes of this tournament, we are counting them as 1 bridge to stay with our usual 16 tournament bridges.

Beginning March 1, you will be able to vote for your favorite bridge in each bracket. The champion bridge will be announced on March 29. Don’t forget to come back each week to vote your favorite bridge to #1!

Each round of voting will go live at 8 AM on the scheduled Sunday and close at noon the following Saturday. The schedule is:

  • March 1 – Sweet Sixteen
  • March 8 – Elite Eight
  • March 15 – Final Four
  • March 22 – Championship
  • March 29 – Winner announced

The 16 London Bridges in this tournament are listed below. Click on the links to learn more about urbantraipsing’s encounter with each bridge.

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Cannon Street Railway Bridge

The Cannon Street Railway Bridge is the last of the railroad bridges I encountered on my trip to London in 2012. Compared to the others (Battersea, Grosvenor, Hungerford, and Blackfriars), the Cannon Street bridge is relatively boring, though it also has its unique features. It is the only one of the five constructed with plate-deck girders, a style my “How to Read Bridges” book skips over, but appears to be a complex form of beam bridge for larger spans.