Officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on May 8, 1984, the barrier, operated by the Environment Agency, was designed to protect London from flooding until 2030, but the "sleeping giant" is now expected to operate until 2070.
The structure took eight years to build at a cost of £535 million ($66 million).
£2.4 billion in today's money
The 10 steel gates, each of which is as wide as the main gate opening of Tower Bridge, weigh 3,300 tons, and are as high as a five-story building when raised.
Since its construction, it has been closed 221 times to prevent flooding of the capital and other floods along the Thames to protect 1.4 million people, £321 billion of residential property, hundreds of schools, hospitals, railways and train stations. The work has been done with safety. Four World Heritage Sites.
Without the barrier, storm surges and frequent tidal floods in the Thames would inundate buildings along the river, officials said
,
In the absence of the barrier, which is downstream from Greenwich and close to the city's airport, the flood protection walls that link the Thames through central London would have to be built three meters further, cutting the city off from its river. .However, with climate change causing increasingly intense storms, as well as sea levels expected to rise by 2,100 metres, officials say larger defenses against floods will be needed in the coming decades.
These include increasing flood walls and defences, raising the level of the River Tame downstream by half a meter by 2040 and then by the same amount westwards through central London, by 2050.
A decision will need to be made by 2040 about what to do with the barrier by 2070, with options including upgrading the existing barrier so that the gates are not closed due to rising seas and storm surges, or installing a series of flood storage reservoirs . "Downstream.
The other option is a new barrier with a similar design to the existing barrier with movable gates that lie flat on the river bed when not needed to allow ships to pass and then swing upward to close. , or a permanent blockage with locks to river traffic. ,
The 40th anniversary also marks the last day on the job for Andy Batchelor, who has been manager of the Thames Barrier for 25 years, having started a new job at the site on the same day as the late Queen opened it.Batchelor said: "Having witnessed and worked on the opening of the Thames Barrier, I am extremely proud of the protection it has provided to London over the past 4 years and will continue to provide for years to come."
"Its reliability and effectiveness demonstrate the sophistication of its design by a very talented group of engineers and the ongoing maintenance performed by the Barrier team," he said.
He said of the barrier: "It's like a sleeping giant, it swings into action, waking up when needed."
"We have to keep Vishal on in the background at all times," he said, paying tribute to his team, who have a rolling program of active maintenance, a regular shutdown, to keep the barrier running.
While the Barrier has met the challenge for which it was designed
2013/2014 was extremely difficult.The storm and several weeks of heavy rain caused overflows in the Thames, meaning the blockage was closed 50 times in 13 weeks, including 20 closures due to or due to continuous high tides.
If that intensive use is repeated more often, it will not leave time for maintenance to make sure it works when needed.
So under the Thames Estuary 2100 plan the Environment Agency and partners will extend the Thames Estuary's boundary walls and protection by half a meter over the coming decades, allowing the barrier to continue to function for as long as possible.
Batchelor said that despite the success in protecting London over the past 4 years, the Environment Agency "will not rest on its laurels given the threat of rising sea levels" and will continue to review and decide the right option for the new barrier. Will work with partners toBy 2040.
SD/KHz
The structure took eight years to build at a cost of £535 million ($66 million).
£2.4 billion in today's money
The 10 steel gates, each of which is as wide as the main gate opening of Tower Bridge, weigh 3,300 tons, and are as high as a five-story building when raised.
Since its construction, it has been closed 221 times to prevent flooding of the capital and other floods along the Thames to protect 1.4 million people, £321 billion of residential property, hundreds of schools, hospitals, railways and train stations. The work has been done with safety. Four World Heritage Sites.
Without the barrier, storm surges and frequent tidal floods in the Thames would inundate buildings along the river, officials said
,
In the absence of the barrier, which is downstream from Greenwich and close to the city's airport, the flood protection walls that link the Thames through central London would have to be built three meters further, cutting the city off from its river. .However, with climate change causing increasingly intense storms, as well as sea levels expected to rise by 2,100 metres, officials say larger defenses against floods will be needed in the coming decades.
These include increasing flood walls and defences, raising the level of the River Tame downstream by half a meter by 2040 and then by the same amount westwards through central London, by 2050.
A decision will need to be made by 2040 about what to do with the barrier by 2070, with options including upgrading the existing barrier so that the gates are not closed due to rising seas and storm surges, or installing a series of flood storage reservoirs . "Downstream.
The other option is a new barrier with a similar design to the existing barrier with movable gates that lie flat on the river bed when not needed to allow ships to pass and then swing upward to close. , or a permanent blockage with locks to river traffic. ,
The 40th anniversary also marks the last day on the job for Andy Batchelor, who has been manager of the Thames Barrier for 25 years, having started a new job at the site on the same day as the late Queen opened it.Batchelor said: "Having witnessed and worked on the opening of the Thames Barrier, I am extremely proud of the protection it has provided to London over the past 4 years and will continue to provide for years to come."
"Its reliability and effectiveness demonstrate the sophistication of its design by a very talented group of engineers and the ongoing maintenance performed by the Barrier team," he said.
He said of the barrier: "It's like a sleeping giant, it swings into action, waking up when needed."
"We have to keep Vishal on in the background at all times," he said, paying tribute to his team, who have a rolling program of active maintenance, a regular shutdown, to keep the barrier running.
While the Barrier has met the challenge for which it was designed
2013/2014 was extremely difficult.The storm and several weeks of heavy rain caused overflows in the Thames, meaning the blockage was closed 50 times in 13 weeks, including 20 closures due to or due to continuous high tides.
If that intensive use is repeated more often, it will not leave time for maintenance to make sure it works when needed.
So under the Thames Estuary 2100 plan the Environment Agency and partners will extend the Thames Estuary's boundary walls and protection by half a meter over the coming decades, allowing the barrier to continue to function for as long as possible.
Batchelor said that despite the success in protecting London over the past 4 years, the Environment Agency "will not rest on its laurels given the threat of rising sea levels" and will continue to review and decide the right option for the new barrier. Will work with partners toBy 2040.
SD/KHz
