Bridges are key to London's history.
Don't believe us? The reason London is situated where it is, stems from the Romans deeming the location of London Bridge the first plausible spot they could build a bridge over the Thames. With that bridge came a settlement, and later, the city as we know it today.
Since then we've had plenty of bridges, and now an exciting new one is on the horizon. But it needs your help to come to fruition.
A rolling bridge over Cody Dock, which allows both pedestrians and boats to pass (although not simultaneously), is in the offing. But it needs support in the form of a crowdfunder to come to life.
But what is a rolling bridge, we hear you cry? Well, the whole contraption will physically roll to flip upside down. No idea what we're on about? Take a look at the video below.
As you can see in that animation, the bridge can be operated by hand — there's no need for a motor or electricity. Here's another diagram to help you make sense of it.
At the time of writing, £59,730 has been raised out of a nearly £200,000 target. On top of that, £100,000 has already been raised separately, including a £40,000 pledge from the Mayor of London.
Why does the area need a bridge? It's a rather inaccessible part of the Docklands right now, but it's starting to blossom, with a cafe, gardens, ecology walk and community events. Making it more accessible would bring more people to this forgotten part of London, and bring back life to the Lower Lea River.
As if you need any more reasons to make this happen it will finally give hipsters a new answer when asked for their favourite London bridge. Too many people have cottoned onto the existence of Heatherwick's Rolling Bridge in Paddington. Oh, and all funders will get their name cast in iron, and that's just awesome.
The crowdfunder runs until 27 August 2019.
