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The Great Millennium Gamble - March 2006

In this program Ed visits the Millennium Bridge and interviews Chris Wise who (as you may gather elsewhere on this website) was largely responsible for “old wobbly”. Sitting in Zelda’s wine bar, where the original idea was dreamt up, Chris explains the conceptual origins of the bridge and the problems that occurred. Later, in the laboratories of Imperial College, Ed demonstrates the problem of pedestrian induced lateral excitation (the origin of the wobble) with the aid of some skateboards! Finally, Sophie le Bourva of ARUP describes the solution that they developed and successfully implemented.
Ed also visits the Falkirk Millennium Wheel, a project that he worked on as a young whipper snapper. He meets with George Ballinger the Chief Engineer for British Waterways in Scotland. George was involved in the project from the very start and gives Ed a guided tour around the wheel explaining how this 1800 tonne wheel moves smoothly around using only the power of a few electric kettles and has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Scotland.