Fears Hammersmith Bridge will never reopen to cars as repair costs hit £250 million
The cost to repair Hammersmith Bridge has skyrocketed to £250 million, according to The Evening Standard. This has raised concerns that the river crossing may never be reopened to vehicles. The latest estimates are far higher than the initial £100 million expected for the bridge’s repairs. These figures come five years after the bridge is closed on safety grounds.
Discussions regarding funding the repairs have hit a stalemate. According to the Standard, a government taskforce last met over two years ago and sources say there is no sign of a breakthrough. This is despite residents expressing their anger.
MPs whose areas have been hit by the closure say that the ballooning repair bill has made it “increasingly unlikely” for the bridge to reopen fully. “I think it’s increasingly possible that it won’t reopen to traffic,” Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, Sarah Olney, told the Standard.
Hammersmith Bridge is Grade II listed and opened in 1887. It once carried around 22,000 vehicles a day as well as seven bus routes before being closed in April 2019 by Hammersmith & Fulham council after safety sensors detected “dangerous micro-fractures” in the pedestals that hold the suspension systems together. In July 2021, it partially reopened to pedestrians and cyclists but has remained closed to drivers who are diverted to either Chiswick or Putney bridges.
The Department for Transport wants the Council and TfL to pay a third each for the repairs with the rest being covered by the taxpayer. “The DfT are the only people that have access to the kind of money that is going to make the difference,” Ms Olney said. “No local authority has the means to foot a bill of this size.” She predicts that drivers would not be able to use the bridge “for at least a decade.”
For more updates on Hammersmith & Fulham, visit EyeonLondon Hammersmith & Fulham.
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