Bummer out! Workers dangle a bale of hay from the Millennium Bridge as they make urgent repairs – making sure they don’t violate a century-old ordinance that requires workers to warn river traffic below

It is a centuries-old regulation whose origins are uncertain.

But that didn’t stop workers from sticking to it this week, as evidenced by the bale of hay pictured hanging from London’s Millennium Bridge.

The century-old regulation in question is on the Port of London Authority’s list of regulations from 2012.

They talk about how, when the bridge clearance is reduced – as has been the case this week due to the presence of dangling engineers – a bundle of hay must be hung during the day to warn the river traffic below.

The contractors were carrying out urgent repairs to the crossing, which was closed for three weeks on Saturday.

The Millennium Bridge was featured in the 2009 film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where an attack by the Death Eaters causes it to collapse into the Thames.

It also appears in the 2014 Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy during a battle scene.

Also known as the ‘Wobbly Bridge’, the £18.2 million bridge connects the Tate Modern to St Paul’s Cathedral.

It was forced to close just three days after opening in 2000 when it swayed under the weight of thousands of pedestrians.

Port of London Authority regulations state: ‘Where the headroom of an arch or span of a bridge is reduced from its usual limits, but that arch or span is not closed to navigation, the person in control of the bridge has, hang it from the center of the bridge. that arch or spans a bundle of straw large enough to catch the eye during the day and a white light at night.’

When the hay was spotted on Twitter, owners of the City Bridge Foundation said: ‘In keeping with age-old tradition (and the Port of London’s Thames Byelaws) a bundle of straw is hung from the Millennium Bridge to warn shipping of work under the bridge (we’). I’m not making this up, to be honest).’

Their photos showed contractor Robert using a rope to lower the hay over the side of the bridge.

Maintenance crews must replace the degrading synthetic membrane that separates the bridge’s steel structure from the aluminum bridge deck.

Its owners, the City Bridge Foundation, said the problem “needs to be urgently addressed” because the structure is “starting to show its age,” as they insisted: “We need to do this work.”

Signposted pedestrian diversion routes will be in place throughout the closure, directing walkers via Southwark Bridge to the east and Blackfriars Bridge to the west.

The work will be carried out 24 hours a day by contractor FM Conway, but the City Bridge Foundation said no power tools will be used between 9pm and 8am to minimize noise.

During the closure, the structure will also receive a thorough cleaning.

When it was forced to close shortly after opening on June 10, 2000, engineers spent months working out a solution before submitting a report in September that year.

In February 2001, the Millennium Bridge Trust announced that they had raised the £5 million needed to make the necessary changes to the structure.

Repair work began in May that year and was completed in January 2002. The bridge reopened the following month after a series of tests to ensure the problem had been resolved.

The modifications included a series of shock-absorbing dampers – usually under the deck – designed to limit the bridge’s movement to an acceptable level.

It became the capital’s first dedicated pedestrian bridge and was the first new river crossing to be built in central London in more than 100 years, since Tower Bridge in 1894.

The structure is the fifth City of London bridge under the jurisdiction of the City Bridge Foundation, joining Southwark, Tower, Blackfriars and London Bridges.

City Bridge Foundation chairman Giles Shilson said yesterday: ‘Since its opening to mark the new millennium, the bridge has become a much-loved and much-used part of London’s landscape, but it is starting to show its age.

‘The separation layer under the bridge deck is starting to deteriorate, which means it is having a negative impact on the bridge deck and needs to be addressed urgently.

“Replacing this layer is a time-consuming process, leaving us with no choice but to close the bridge for three weeks and work around the clock to get it done as quickly as possible.”

‘We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we hope that people will understand that we have to do this work, and that they will see the benefits after we give the bridge a much-needed deep clean so that it looks as good as new .’

The 900-year-old organization was founded to collect tolls from London Bridge and now maintains the five bridges, which it says is done at no cost to taxpayers.

It says its assets grew so large in 1995 that it was allowed to donate some of its annual surplus to charities – and now gives away an average of £30 million a year.