Chiswick Bridge is a reinforced concrete deck arch bridge over the River Thames in West London. It is one of three bridges opened in 1933 as part of an ambitious scheme to relieve traffic congestion west of London. The structure carries the A316 road between Chiswick on the north bank of the Thames and Mortlake on the south bank. The bridge is built on the site of a former ferry. It is long and faced with 3,400 tons of Portland stone. When the central span opened it was the longest concrete span over the Thames. The bridge is well known for its proximity to the end of The Championship Course, the stretch of the Thames used for the Boat Race and other rowing events. Background The villages of Chiswick and Mortlake, about west of central London on the north and south banks of the River Thames, had been linked by a ferry since at least the 17th century. Both areas were sparsely populated, so there was little demand for a fixed river crossing at that point. With the arrival of railways and the London Underground in the 19th century commuting to London became practical and affordable, and the populations of Chiswick and Mortlake grew rapidly. In 1909 the Great Chertsey Road scheme was proposed, which envisaged building a major new road from Hammersmith, then on the outskirts of London, to Chertsey, west of central London, bypassing the towns of Kingston and Richmond. However, the scheme was abandoned due to costs and arguments between various interested parties over the exact route the road should take. After the First World War, the population of the west London suburbs continued to grow, thanks to improved rail transport links and the growth in ownership of automobiles. In 1925, the Ministry of Transport convened a conference between Surrey and Middlesex county councils with the aim of reaching a solution to the congestion problem, and the Great Chertsey Road scheme was revived. In 1927, the Royal Commission on Cross-River Traffic approved the scheme to relieve the by then chronic traffic congestion on the existing, mostly narrow, streets in the area, and on the narrow bridges at Richmond Bridge, Kew and Hammersmith. The Ministry of Transport agreed to pay heavy subsidies towards the cost. A new arterial road, now the A316 road, was given Royal Assent on 3 August 1928, and construction began in 1930. The construction