Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
From urgency to emergency
PEDESTRIANS AND ALL VEHICLES BANNED AS HAMMERSMITH BRIDGE CRACKS GET WORSE
HAMMERSMITH Bridge has closed to all vehicles, pedestrians and river traffic after safety inspectors found cracks had worsened during the recent heatwave.
The bridge has been closed to motorists since April last year because of structural faults but was still open to cyclists and pedestrians while work was carried out. But the bridge, which is crossed by up to 16,000 people every day, was shut to everyone on Thursday August 13 at 5pm. This includes the pedestrian underpasses on both sides.
The 133-year-old bridge is owned and maintained by Hammersmith & Fulham council, which said specialist engineers have been monitoring the structural integrity of the bridge using an extensive network of sensors and had found that the recent heatwave had caused cracks to “significantly increase”.
This means that pedestrians and cyclists must now cross the river elsewhere, while all boats will be stopped from travelling underneath so engineers can examine the extent of the damage.
There are currently roadworks on Wandsworth Bridge, which has seen slow traffic this evening.
Council leader Stephen Cowan said: “Safety is the number one priority. I’m absolutely sure that we averted a catastrophe by closing this 19th century suspension bridge to motor vehicles last year.
“We have some of the best engineers in the world working on this scheme. They advise we now face a similar dilemma.
“I appreciate how inconvenient this will be to thousands of people on both sides of the river and I am sorry about that, but we must follow the engineers’ advice which is why the bridge will be closed with immediate effect today.
“We will update everyone as soon as engineers have investigated the scale of the recent damage.
“I have instructed them to find a plan to safely reopen it as quickly as they can.”
Councillor Alexander Ehmann, chair of the transport and air quality services committee for Richmond Council, said: “We fully support the decision to close Hammersmith Bridge on safety measures. Safety must come first. Richmond Council believes that the safety of all residents must be our number one priority.
“However, what was urgent before is now an emergency. A critical piece of London’s infrastructure cannot be allowed to crumble into the Thames, while the Government and London Mayor wrangle over responsibility for the funding.
“With a potential repair bill of £140m, the Government are the only credible funding mechanism. They must now act in the public interest and supply the long-overdue funding to ensure the bridge can be saved.”