Explore Golden Jubilee Footbridges

These sleek, modern footbridges of concrete and steel run each side of the existing Hungerford Rail Bridge. Opened in July 2003, they commemorate the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. A competition launched in 1996 to design two new footbridges was won by Illuminated River’s architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, alongside engineers WSP Group. Their striking design comprises twin walkways attached to a forest of tall, leaning suspension masts. The Golden Jubilee bridges are not the first bridges to be crossable by foot at this point of the river. The original structure for the Hungerford Bridge was an elegant suspension footbridge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, which opened in 1845. Commissioned by the Hungerford Market Company in an attempt to attract business from the South Bank, it became the longest suspension bridge in Britain at 1,462 feet long.

Leo Villareal’s artwork for the Golden Jubilee Footbridges enhances the intricacy of Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ suspended walkways. The outer fittings of the new balustrade lights on the bridge have both warm and cool white diodes. These are controlled by the artist’s software to create mesmerising patterns that seem to syncopate with the shifting scene all around - the tides and the movement of the trains.