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Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1830 when he was just 24, the bridge was not completed until 1864, five years after
Brunel's death at the age of just 53. The project suffered from a series of political problems and constantly escalating costs
(sounds familiar doesn't it?). The whole project is estimated to have cost £100,000; a king's ransom by today's standards.
A glowing testament to the standard of engineering and workmanship that went into the bridge's construction is the fact
that despite being designed to carry a fairly low volume of horse-drawn vehicles it now carries thousands of cars a day with
no problems, although the city council does close it during times of expected peaks of usage like the annual Balloon Fiesta
at Ashton Court.
Many people are familiar with the story of Sarah Henley who in 1885, at the age of 21, jumped from the bridge following a
lovers' tiff. A combination of the slowing effects of her billowing crinoline and a landing in some particularly soft mud
resulted in her surviving the fall and dying of old age 63 years later. Fewer people know that in 1957 an R. A. F. pilot flew a
Vampire jet under the bridge for a dare. He succeeded in doing this but was unable to turn his aircraft in time when he emerged
and was met by Leigh Woods at 500 mph. Unlike Miss Henley, he did not make it into old age.
Clifton Suspension Bridge is quite rightly world-famous and now attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year.
I must have driven past it , under it and over it a thousand times but I still can't help admiring it on every occasion.
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