Hammersmith Bridge closed indefinitely

Hammersmith Bridge has been closed indefinitely after safety checks revealed “critical faults.”

Hammersmith and Fulham Council claimed government budget cuts left Transport for London unable to complete urgent repairs on the crossing, leaving it with “no choice” but to shut the bridge to motorists.

A statement on its website said the council had a “fully tested plan to refurbish the bridge and we’re ready to start work” but today’s move was a “huge disappointment.”

Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the bridge, which links Barnes and Hammersmith, but cars and buses will be forced to follow diversions until further notice.

Bus routes 33, 72, 209, 419, 485 and 609 will all be affected by the bridge’s closure.

The statement said: “We’ve had to urgently close Hammersmith Bridge to motorists because of safety concerns.

“Our weekly safety checks have revealed critical faults and we have no choice but to shut the bridge. We’re sorry we couldn’t give you more warning.

“We have a fully tested plan to refurbish the bridge and we’re ready to start work. But, due to government budget cuts, Transport for London (TfL) says it can no longer fund the planned refurbishment. This is a huge disappointment.

“Regrettably, we’ve now been left with no option but to close the bridge indefinitely until the refurbishment costs can be met. So we’re supporting TfL’s call for the government to invest in this vital river crossing and national monument – so we can get on with the work and reopen the bridge.

“Hundreds of daily journeys by heavy buses cause regular distress to the bridge. That’s why we agreed with TfL in 2015 that they would only run one bus in each direction at one time, while we developed a longer-term strengthening plan. But this damage has now reached a critical point.

“Closing the bridge is not a decision we’ve taken lightly and we know it will inconvenience many people. We’re sorry for that disruption, but we must put the safety of the public first.”

The Grade II listed bridge was opened in 1887 and was “not built for modern traffic.”

It has been regularly closed in recent years, with emergency repairs having taken place last summer.

A TfL spokesperson said: “Following the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham’s decision to close Hammersmith Bridge, six bus routes have been diverted or now stop short of their destination. Customers should check our real time channels for the latest travel information. We are working closely with the borough to minimise disruption.”

That’s going to cause chaos in the area!

TFL can no longer fund the upgrade to the bridge ,because they have spent so much money fuking up the rest of the london roads they now have to blame the goverment

old street roundabout is next on their list to fukup they have already started work on it

Jeez that’s bad. It’s such a bottleneck as it is. Sure will add incredible pressure to the other crossings.

I remember when it was last refurbished sometime around 1990 (I used to live in the area).

Hated crossing it lately, shit surface, hard to filter and when driving, my god the width restrictions would give me nightmares.

1 Like

Jay you can’t filter when driving, the police frown upon that.

Filtering when riding is ok. :smiley:

Damn, now you tell me!

That’s OK Rusty will be along shortly to remind you once again the rules. :smiley: :smiley:

Frustrating as this is my commute. At the moment I’m going over Putney Bridge.

It’s open to pedestrians and cyclists… I don’t really understand why it’s not open to motorcycles?

Because we are all reckless and dangerous remember.

Plus, the amount of lemmings you would end up with not expecting PTW’s would be like a game of lemmings

Apparently the barriers were opened up yesterday afternoon to allow cycles through and a few motorbikes/scooters were discounting and pushing over the bridge.

TfL …total. Fucking losers,seems this outfit isn’t really able to complete anything without messing it up.

That’s a bit unfair. It was built in 1887 and has been destroyed by people romping across it in two-tonne Range Rovers. You can’t blame TfL for the Victorians not foreseeing our dependence on massive SUVs.

I cycled over hammersmith bridge this morning and there was a motorbike courier pushing his bike across.
Not sure how much time it saved him over the diversion via putney bridge as he didn’t catch me up until the other side of shepherd’s Bush. I won’t bother with it myself.

1 Like

It’s also been bombed by the ira a few times if I’m not mistaken

It’s going to be closed for a while…
https://www.barnes-ca.org/community-blog/2019/5/10/hammersmith-bridge-closure

As of this morning, it seems that they are no longer letting you push motorbikes over the bridge - looks like some sort of work is starting so the available road is narrower.

Cyclists are being made to get off and push, bikers are being refused access (although the guy in front of me was half way down the narrow path before he was told and then had to push his bike backwards back through the crowd)

Bridge is now closed to all traffic, including river traffic passing underneath!

Well I guess that’s made my decision about which route to cycle into work next week.