Surveyors found that the bridge was slowly sinkingabout one third of a centimeter every year.
Another four decades had passed before the City Council could arrive at a decision.
The London Bridgein Lake Havasu City.
The London Bridge in London, before it was dismantled and brought to Lake Havasu City.
From Long Beach, the granite blocks were trucked 300 miles to its destination.
It cost McCulloch $7 million just to ship the blocks.
Then began the complicated process of reassembling the structure.
Fortunately, everything was meticulously planned.
Inevitably, some of the stones were damaged and had to be replaced with local granite.
To give the newer stones the century-old look, they werecovered with sootfrom kerosene burners.
Construction of the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City.
The London Bridge officially opened on October 10, 1971 withmuch fanfare.
McCullochs gamble paid off and land sales in Lake Havasu City skyrocketed.
From a population of just a few hundred in the 1960s, the town blossomed to 10,000 by 1974.
That year, the bridge drew nearly two million visitors to the new city.
Today, Lake Havasu City is home to 52,000 residents.
The novelty of driving over London Bridge has passed, writesRoadsideAmerica.
Photo credit:TJfrom AZ/Flickr
Aerial photo of London Bridge in Lake Havasu City.
Photo credit:S. Winkvist/Wikimedia
