The winning entry was an innovative "blade of light" effort from Arup Group, Foster + Partners and Anthony Caro.

Due to height restrictions, and to improve the view, the bridge's suspension design had the supporting cables below the deck level, giving a very shallow profile.

The eight suspension cables are tensioned to pull with a force of 2,000 tons against the piers set into each bank—enough to support a working load of 5,000 people.

[3] Construction began in late 1998, and the main works were started on 28 April 1999 by Monberg & Thorsen and Sir Robert McAlpine.

[6] Unexpected lateral vibration due to resonant structural response caused the bridge to be closed on 12 June for modifications.

Attempts had been made to limit the number of people crossing the bridge, which led to long queues but were ineffective to dampen the vibrations.

[8] An example is London's Albert Bridge, which has a sign dating from 1873 warning marching ranks of soldiers to break step while crossing.

[12] They concluded that making the bridge stiffer, to move its resonant frequency out of the excitation range, was not feasible as it would greatly change its appearance.

In spite of the successful cure, the "wobbly bridge" (sometimes "wibbly-wobbly"[17]) epithet remains in common usage among Londoners.

It was opened in December 2003 to allow pedestrians to surmount the steep slope (13.6°) of Peter's Hill from the riverside to the entrance to the Millennium Bridge without using the alternative flight of steps.

[24][25] It was primarily installed for use by those who cannot easily manage the steep steps, such as people with disabilities and parents with push chairs.

[26] A major renovation project was undertaken in 2012, and the lift was reopened in time for the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant of 3 June 2012, which took place about a month before the 2012 Summer Olympics.