Visitors can still see markings on London Bridge in Arizona
The granite stones of the historic structure were numbered before being dismantled and moved to Lake Havasu City.
According to the Times of India, visitors to the London Bridge in Arizona can still spot identification markings on the granite stones of the historic structure. These markings were applied to the 10,276 exterior granite blocks before the bridge was dismantled for relocation.
The numbering system used a four-number identification method. The first number indicated the arch span, the second identified the row, and the final two specified the position within that row to assist workers during reconstruction.
The bridge was originally a granite structure designed by Scottish engineer John Rennie the Elder, which opened on August 1, 1831. It was eventually replaced in London by a concrete-and-steel bridge that opened in March 1973.
Industrialist Robert McCulloch purchased the bridge in April 1968 for $2,460,000. This price included $1.2 million for the structure, double the dismantling cost, and an additional $60,000 based on McCulloch's age at the time of the bridge's reopening.
Following the sale, the stones were shipped through the Panama Canal to Long Beach, California, before being trucked to Lake Havasu City. The first truckload arrived on 9 July 1968.
Architect Robert Beresford supervised the reassembly using copies of the original plans. A crew of approximately 40 workers spent three years rebuilding the bridge, which features a hollow core of steel-reinforced concrete.