Hammersmith Bridge, which opened in 1827, was not designed to carry cars (Picture: Getty Images)
It could take another decade and £250,000,000 worth of repairs before Hammersmith Bridge will reopen to cars.
The 138-year-old landmark crossing, which survived an IRA bombing, is causing grey hairs to Londoners as it has been closed to motor traffic for almost six years.
Now an MP has revealed that the west london bridge might not reopen fully until 2035.
Putney MP Fleur Anderson said that even if the work started now, it would take ’10 years of building.’
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She accused the previous Conservative government’s failure to ‘get on’ with the works for the reopening delay.
Cars were forbidden ‘indefinitely’ on the Victorian bridge after cracks were discovered in its pedestals.
It reopened to pedestrians and cyclists last February while works were forced to pause after a boat carrying West Ham United football fans crashed into it in December 2023.
The estimated repair costs have now ballooned to £250,000,000.
Ms Anderson told the BBC News Local Democracy Reporting Service that if the last government had started and ‘they’d got on with it six years ago, we could have done it, but everything seems to have slowed down.’
‘Steel is less available because of the war in Ukraine. There are variables we couldn’t even have imagined six years ago that have come in, so the longer it’s left the harder it seems to get,’ she added.
Hammersmith Bridge in west London is nowhere ready to reopen (Picture: Belinda Jiao/Reuters)
Sarah Olney, a Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park, said the failure to commit to the bridge repairs previously ‘a stain on the former Conservative government’s legacy.’
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She claimed that the ‘business case for the repairs sat on the minister’s desk for over a year without any action being taken.’
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, who almost felt ‘seasick’ when he drove a bus over the Hammersmith Bridge, said previously it was ‘designed and built for horse-drawn traffic.’
Local authorities in the area are said to be at loggerheads over who should pay for the repairs of the world’s oldest suspension bridge which is owned by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Lord Hendy said Hammersmith and Richmond upon Thames councils have to decide what to do with the bridge and to work with TfL to decide ‘how the bridge is going to be used.’
The Department for Transport said it continues to work closely with the two boroughs and TfL. A department spokesperson said it has ‘already provided £13m of funding towards te project to date.’
‘The Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce will provide a valuable forum for stakeholders to discuss the progress of the repair works and potential next steps, as well as the impact on local traffic,’ they said.
We approached the Conservative Party for a comment.
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