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阿爾伯特橋（Albert Bridge）是英國倫敦一座跨越泰晤士河的公路橋梁，連接北岸的切爾西和南岸的巴特西. 本橋最初為工程師於1873年所建的修正版斜張橋，後證實其結構不健全，遂在1884年至1887年間將部分懸索橋的設計元素融入橋體. 1973年，倫敦行政機構——在此增設兩座橋墩，將橋中段的跨徑完全變成梁橋，其結果使當前的橋體成為三種設計形式並存的獨特混合體. 本橋為英格蘭遺產委員會所列的二級星登錄建築（Grade II*）.

阿爾伯特橋建成之初為，但營收欠佳，開通6年後收歸公有、取消收費. 收費亭則予以保留，為倫敦橋梁收費亭的僅存實例. 本橋在大量人群通過時會產生震動的傾向，因此得到「顫抖女士」（The Trembling Lady）的外號，並在橋的入口端立牌，警告部隊過橋時採便步通行.

本橋上的車道僅寬約27 ft，還有嚴重的結構缺陷，因此其設備不足以應付20世紀內機動車輛的出現. 儘管多方倡議拆除阿爾伯特橋或將之行人專用化，該橋於存在期間，除了維修所致的短暫封閉外，均開放車輛通行，並且也是倫敦市區唯二未被取代的泰晤士河公路橋之一. 巴澤爾傑特和大倫敦委員會著手的強化工程未能阻止橋體結構的進一步惡化，橋上曾引入一系列逐漸增嚴的交通管制措施，限制利用，藉此延長年限，使本橋成為倫敦繁忙程度第二低的泰晤士河公路橋，僅次於使用量低迷的南華克橋. 由於交通承重及途經此橋、前往附近巴特西公園的大量犬隻排尿，腐蝕木製，致使橋梁的狀態每況愈下.

1992年，阿爾伯特橋進行了重新配線，並漆成一種在低能見度下能更顯眼、可以避免船舶毀損的調色. 到了夜間，則由4,000顆燈泡照明，該橋遂成為西倫敦最醒目的地標之一. 2010年至2011年間，這些燈泡改由LED燈取代.

歷史


位處泰晤士河北岸、倫敦核心區域——西敏以西3 mi處且歷史悠久的工業城鎮切爾西，而富饒的農村巴特西則在南岸與切爾西相望，兩者自1771年由樸實無華的巴特西木橋連接在一起. 1842年，建議在切爾西建造，以釋出開發用土地，還計畫在巴特西橋下游另建新橋，並以更嶄新的結構取代前者. 距巴特西橋下游不遠處的維多利亞橋（後改名為切爾西橋）於1851年開工、1858年竣工，的工事則於1862年展開. 與此同時，拆除巴特西橋的提案則遭到揚棄.

巴特西木橋在19世紀中葉已變得破舊不堪，更加不受歡迎，安全性堪慮，同時維多利亞新橋則飽受嚴重的交通堵塞. 1860年，阿爾伯特親王提出建議，在兩座現存橋梁間適合建造一座新的，而阿爾伯特橋公司也在1860年代早期創設，旨在興建這座新的跨河建設. 1863年，進一步推出的提案受到巴特西橋的營運方強力反對，該橋距離新橋的預定場址僅有500 yd，業者因而擔心潛在客源流失. 此後各方達成妥協，一份國會法案也在1864年通過，授權新橋興建，條件是5年內完工. 該法也強制規定阿爾伯特橋公司在新橋開通後買下巴特西橋，過渡期間每年度賠償業者3,000英鎊（相當於2024年幣值0英鎊）.



新橋的工程委由設計. 奧迪仕是參與過皇家阿爾伯特音樂廳、聖潘克拉斯車站、水晶宮和等工成的頂尖建築工程師. 橋梁以斜張橋的早期型式「」設計，已於1858年由奧氏本人取得專利. 他的設計安裝了拋物線形的纜索支撐橋中央，與典型的懸索橋類似，但不同之處在於其設置了32根傾斜的來支撐其餘的負重. 每根牽索各包含一座附著在橋面上的扁平熟鐵條 ，和一根由1,000條直徑約1/10 in的鋼線組成、將熟鐵條和四座八角形支柱連接起來的.

設計與建造
儘管在1864年獲得授權，造橋工事仍由於切爾西堤岸的談判而延宕，因為北岸河堤上將鋪設新路，直到該路的確切佈局得到同意之前，橋梁設計都無法完成. 當切爾西堤的計畫陷入爭議之時，奧迪仕在捷克（時屬奧匈帝國）布拉格興建了橫跨伏爾塔瓦河的弗朗茨·約瑟夫橋，採用了意圖使用在阿爾伯特橋上的相同設計.



至1869年時，1864年法案允許的時限已經過期. 切爾西堤岸工程導致的延宕意味著橋梁完全毫無開工，並需要一份新的國會法案來延長時限. 造橋工程終於在1870年開始進行，估計1年內完工，耗資約70,000英鎊（相當於2024年幣值英鎊），結果整個計畫運作了超過3年，最終費用則升至200,000英鎊（相當於2024年幣值英鎊）. 該橋原定於1874年時和切爾西堤岸舉辦聯合通車式，但阿爾伯特橋公司亟欲填補大幅高過預期的成本，因此不舉辦任何正式典禮，即於1873年8月23年開通，此時距離該橋授權開工已將近10年. 應法律要求，阿爾伯特橋公司隨後併購了巴特西橋.

奧迪仕的橋寬約41 ft、長達710 ft，中央跨距384 ft. 橋面透過4座八角形鑄鐵橋塔懸吊下的32根硬鋼條支撐，而橋塔則設置在鑄鐵製橋墩上. 四座橋墩於巴特西鑄造後，沿河順流到點定位，此時再填滿混凝土，在當時是史上最龐大的鑄造物. 不像當代大部分的其他尋索橋，本橋的橋塔位於橋外側，避免對車道形成障礙. 橋的兩端入口各設有一對收費亭，中間尚加裝障礙，防止未付費者上橋.

本橋由於擁有振動的傾向，而得到「顫抖女士」的諢名，而震動情形在附近的有部隊過橋時尤為嚴重. 1831年英國倒塌事件和1850年法國倒塌事件後，針對懸索橋機械共振風險的顧慮使得阿爾伯特橋入口處加裝了標示，警告部隊便步（即不齊步）過橋 Although the barracks closed in 2008, the warning signs are still in place.

Transfer to public ownership


The Albert Bridge was catastrophically unsuccessful financially. By the time the new bridge opened, the Albert Bridge Company had been paying compensation to the Battersea Bridge Company for nine years, and on completion of the new bridge became liable for the costs of repairing the by then dilapidated and dangerous structure. The cost of subsidising Battersea Bridge drained funds intended for the building of wide approach roads, making the bridge difficult to reach. Located slightly further from central London than neighbouring Victoria (Chelsea) Bridge, demand for the new bridge was less than expected, and in the first nine months of its operation only 2,085英鎊（相當於2024年幣值0英鎊）were taken in tolls.

In 1877 the Metropolis Toll Bridges Act was passed, which allowed the Metropolitan Board of Works to buy all London bridges between Hammersmith and Waterloo bridges and free them from tolls. In 1879, the Albert Bridge, which had cost £200,000 to build, was bought by the Board of Works along with Battersea Bridge for a combined price of 170,000英鎊（相當於2024年幣值英鎊） The tolls were removed from both bridges on 24 May 1879, but the octagonal tollbooths were left in place, and today are the only surviving bridge tollbooths in London.

Structural weaknesses
In 1884 the Board of Works' Chief Engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette conducted an inspection of the bridge and found that the iron rods were already showing serious signs of corrosion. Over the next three years the staying rods were augmented with steel chains, giving it an appearance more closely resembling a conventional suspension bridge, and a new timber deck was laid, at a total cost of 25,000英鎊（相當於2024年幣值英鎊）. Despite these improvements, Bazalgette was still concerned about its structural integrity and a weight limit of five tons was imposed on vehicles using the bridge.

With a roadway only 27 ft wide and subject to weight restrictions from early on, the Albert Bridge was ill-suited to the advent of motorised transport in the 20th century. In 1926 the Royal Commission on Cross-River Traffic recommended demolition and rebuilding of the bridge to carry four lanes of traffic, but the plan was not carried out because of a shortage of funds in the Great Depression. It continued to deteriorate, and in 1935 the weight limit was reduced to two tons.

Because of its ongoing structural weaknesses, in 1957 the London County Council proposed replacing the Albert Bridge with a more conventional design. A protest campaign led by John Betjeman resulted in the withdrawal of the proposal, but serious concerns about the integrity of the bridge continued. In 1964 an experimental tidal flow scheme was introduced, in which only northbound traffic was permitted to use the bridge in the mornings and southbound traffic in the evenings. The bridge's condition continued to deteriorate however, and in 1970 the Greater London Council (GLC) sought and obtained consent to carry out strengthening work. In April 1972 the bridge was closed for the work to be carried out.

Pedestrianised park proposal


The GLC's solution entailed adding two concrete piers in the middle of the river to support the central span and thus transform the bridge's central section into a beam bridge. The bridge's main girder was also strengthened, and a lightweight replacement deck was laid. The modifications were intended to be a stopgap measure to extend the bridge's life by five years while a replacement was being considered; in the GLC's estimation the work would last for a maximum of 30 years, but the bridge would need to be either closed or replaced well before then.

In early 1973, the Architectural Review submitted a proposal to convert the Albert Bridge into a landscaped public park and pedestrian footpath across the river. The proposal proved very popular with the area's residents, and a May 1973 campaign led by John Betjeman, Sybil Thorndike and Laurie Lee raised a petition of 2,000 signatures for the bridge to be permanently closed to traffic. Although the GLC reopened the bridge to traffic in July 1973, it also announced its intention to proceed with the Architectural Review scheme once legal matters had been dealt with.

The Royal Automobile Club campaigned vigorously against the pedestrianisation proposal. A publicity campaign fronted by actress Diana Dors in favour of reopening the bridge was launched, whilst a lobbying group of local residents led by poet Robert Graves campaigned in support of the GLC's plan. Graves's campaign collected over a thousand signatures in support, but was vigorously attacked by the British Road Federation, who derided the apparent evidence of public support for the scheme as "sending a lot of students around to council flats [where] most people will sign anything without knowing what it is all about". A public enquiry of 1974 recommended that the bridge remain open to avoid congestion on neighbouring bridges, and it remained open to traffic with the tidal flow and 2-ton weight limit in place.

Present day


In 1990, the tidal flow system was abandoned and the Albert Bridge was converted back to two-way traffic. A traffic island was installed on the south end of the bridge to prevent larger vehicles from using it. In the early years of the 21st century the Chelsea area experienced a growth in the popularity of large four-wheel drive cars (so-called Chelsea tractors), many of which were over the two-ton weight limit; it was estimated that one third of all vehicles using the bridge were over the weight limit. In July 2006 the 27 ft wide roadway was narrowed to a single lane in each direction to reduce the load. Red and white plastic barriers have been erected along the roadway in an effort to protect the structure from damage by cars.

Between 1905 and 1981 the Albert Bridge was painted uniformly green; in 1981 it was repainted yellow. In 1992 it was redecorated and rewired. Partially as a result, it is now a major West London landmark. The bridge is painted in pink, blue and green to increase visibility in fog and murky light and thus to reduce the risks of ships colliding with the fragile structure during the day. At night, a network of 4,000 low-voltage tungsten-halogen bulbs illuminate the bridge. In 1993 the innovative use of long-life low-energy lighting was commended by Mary Archer, at the time Chairwoman of the National Energy Foundation. Its distinctive and striking current appearance has led to its use as a backdrop for numerous films set in the Chelsea area, such as A Clockwork Orange, Absolute Beginners, Sliding Doors and Maybe Baby.



Except for Tower Bridge, built in 1894, the Albert Bridge is the only Thames road bridge in central London never to have been replaced. Intended as a temporary measure to be removed in 1978, the concrete central piers remain in place, and although in 1974 its lifespan was estimated at a maximum of 30 years, the bridge is still standing and operational. The Albert Bridge was protected as a Grade II* listed structure in 1975, granting it protection against significant alteration without consultation. It continues to deteriorate. Although proposals have been drawn up by Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council to repair and rescue it, by March 2008 funds for the repairs were unavailable. As well as structural damage caused by traffic, the timbers underpinning the deck are being seriously rotted by the urine of dogs crossing to and from nearby Battersea Park. With multiple measures in place to reduce traffic flow and prolong the life of the bridge, in 2009 it carried approximately 19,000 vehicles per day, the lowest usage of any Thames road bridge in London other than the little-used Southwark Bridge.

Refurbishment of 2010–2011
The bridge was closed to motor vehicles on 15 February 2010 for refurbishment and strengthening. It was originally expected to remain closed for approximately 18 months, but after the condition of the bridge was found to be worse than expected, it was closed for 22 months. All of the timber in the decking as well as the footway that had rotted away were replaced, with additional timber added for strengthening. Surfaces at the carriageway and pavement decking were replaced. New steel structures were added to strengthen the bridge. All the lightbulbs were changed to more energy-efficient ones. The tollbooths were refurbished. All twelve layers of paint were stripped down until the bare metal was exposed, which was repaired and treated before three new coats of paint were added. The whole project cost £7.2 million of which the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea provided 25% of the cost and the other 75% was provided by Transport for London.

It re-opened on 2 December 2011, when two dogs named Prince and Albert, from nearby Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, walked across the bridge. All of the Grade II features were retained.