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Wandsworth Bridge crosses the River Thames in west London. It carries the A217 road between Battersea, near Wandsworth Town Station, in the London Borough of Wandsworth on the south side of the river, and Sands End and Parsons Green in Hammersmith and Fulham on the north side. The first bridge on the site was a toll bridge, built in 1873 in the expectation that the western terminus of the Hammersmith and City Railway would shortly be built on the north bank. The terminus was not built, and problems with drainage on the approach road made access to the bridge difficult for vehicles. Wandsworth Bridge was commercially unsuccessful, and in 1880 it was taken into public ownership and made toll-free. Narrow and too weak to carry buses, the bridge was demolished in 1937. The present bridge, an unadorned steel cantilever bridge, was opened in 1940. It was painted in dull shades of blue as camouflage against air raids, a colour scheme it retains. Wandsworth Bridge is one of the busiest bridges in London, carrying over 50,000 vehicles daily. (Full article...)

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