The question of Waterloo Bridge came before the London County
Council on Tuesday, when it was agreed to accept the proposal of the Improvements Committee. The Committee had asked for a vote on account of £1,000,000 to reconstruct and widen the bridge and to build a temporary bridge to carry the traffic meanwhile. Mr. Meinertzhagen, the Chairman of the Committee, stated that the amount by which the bridge should be widened had not yet been decided. It was impossible to disregard the report of the engineers, which was to the effect that the only permanent solution was to rebuild the foundations. To take the bridge down and re-erect it would be found the cheapest way in the end. Sir Howell Williams spoke in favour of under-pinning Water- loo Bridge and building an entirely new permanent bridge near by. In answer to this, it was pointed out that a new bridge at Temple Station, for instance, would mean the acquisition of much property, and that would require an Act of Parliament. The question of a new bridge was, in fact, distinct from the problem of dealing with Waterloo Bridge. In the end Sir Howell Williams withdrew his amendment, and the recommendations of the Improvements Committee were carried.
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