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.
Blackfriars Station is another unique bridge along the Thames. It is a bridge…and it’s a station for the underground. When I was there in May 2012, it was under construction, or rather extensive renovation to extend the platforms along the bridge and add solar panels above. The Guardian heralded it as the “world’s largest solar power bridge” when it opened in 2014. And over a decade later, it seems to retain hold of that title, suggesting an opportunity for more solar bridges to step up to the challenge.
The Hungerford Bridge is unique among London bridges. It is a truss bridge, instead of the more typical deck arch bridges up and down the river. Also, it has a pedestrian bridge hanging off each side of it, collectively know as the Jubilee Bridges, that nearly hide the Hungerford Bridge from view, begging the question: how many is one bridge?
Grosvenor Bridge is the second of the railroad bridges across the Thames that I encountered. Four bridges downriver from the Battersea Railroad Bridge, it is substantially wider to accommodate a higher volume of train traffic. As with most of the Thames River bridges I encountered in 2012, Grosvenor Bridge is a deck arch bridge. However, unlike the others that feature ornate coloring and ornamentation, here the arches and spandrels are left to speak, simply, for themselves.
Just upriver from the Battersea Bridge – technically the first bridge I traipsed – is the Battersea Railroad Bridge. It mimics the deck arch style, and echoes the gold contrasted against a dark tone color-scheme, of the Battersea Bridge. The railroad bridge also has a similarly narrow road bed, making it the skinniest of the railroad bridges I encountered in my bridge walking of London in 2012.
This is the closest I got to the Battersea Railroad Bridge. My paper map ended about there – I refused to get a smartphone for several more years – and I had no idea there was another bridge just beyond that bend in the Thames that I could have walked. However, my motivating goal in walking bridges was to capture different views of the city. I took numerous photos from and near each of the bridges I walked, usually including at least one upriver and one downriver view, which enabled me to capture views of bridges that weren’t pedestrian accessible, such as the Battersea Railroad Bridge.
Thank you for participating in the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament! I hope you had as much fun voting as I did watching the votes add up. There were several surprises in this year’s match-up. Multiple iconic bridges got knocked out early; and the Mid-Hudson Bridge inspired a strong following right from the beginning.
As a reminder, this year’s tournament featured suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally. Below is the completed brackets for Bridge Madness 2025. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge. Keep scrolling to see past winners and for an opportunity to send me feedback on Bridge Madness.
I’m already brainstorming for Bridge Madness 2026. Hope you come back!
Bridge Madness 2024: Pittsburgh Pedestrian Bridges Winner – East Liberty Station Pedestrian Bridge
Bridge Madness 2023: Pittsburgh River Bridges Winner – Smithfield Street Bridge
Bridge Madness started from a conversation with one of urbantraipsing’s fans. I added links to posts about the bridges in the introduction this year based on feedback from participants in prior years. Now it’s your turn to send me feedback. Do you have suggestions that would make the tournaments more fun? Thoughts on how to engage more people in voting? A bridge you recommend I add to my list of bridges to explore?
Also, I make a postcard every year announcing Bridge Madness, if you fill in your address below, I will add you to my mailing list for next year (the postcard is the only mailing I will send you).
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally.
Results of the Final Four:
Below is the bracket for the Championship. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally.
Results of the Elite Eight:
Below are the brackets for the Final Four. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Thursday, March 20th, and then return on March 22th to vote for the Championship.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: New York City and Great Lakes Region vs. National and International. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally.
Results of the Sweet Sixteen:
Below are the brackets for the Elite Eight. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Thursday, March 13th, and then return on March 15th to vote for the Final Four.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: New York City and Great Lakes Region vs. National and International. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
In the 2025 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 suspension bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features suspension bridges visited by urbantraipsing nationally and internationally. Below are the brackets for the Sweet Sixteen. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Thursday, March 6th, and then return on March 8th to vote for the Elite Eight.
The bridges are divided into two conferences: New York City and Great Lakes Region vs. National and International. To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.
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