Forum Topic

Hammersmith Bridge

A hopeless endeavour, they should just close the thing and let it rot. Remind us of the total incompetence from everywhere.

John Bird ● 9d6 Comments

If you were cynical you could say that the cost of the urgent repairs suddenly became the same as the amount of money that was available in funding.There are probably more twists in this story. Andy Burnham may be more northern focused so the chances of London projects getting central government backing are reduced. However, he is also in favour of increased regional devolution which could see an expansion in both the budget and the powers of the London Mayor. Burnham is also a believer in the power of infrastructure spending to boost growth so the idea that his rise is bad news for Hammersmith Bridge may be wrong.

Mark Evans ● 3d

2019 more cracks were discovered in the bridges pedestals.

Janice Evans ● 7d

Have they actually said what it is they have found that has made the project more serious than previously thought? Issues with the pedestal casings and the metal bearings were known and have been dealt with.  Is the best way forward now to just dismantle the bridge and complete the work off site where it can be carries out more cheaply and effectively i.e. the COWI plan without the double decker bridge?

Andrew OSullivan ● 7d

Believe when the repairs started it was discovered the problem was worse than they thought, it was only then more funds were required.

Janice Evans ● 8d

The meeting last week was presented with figures which showed that the previous Conservative administration spent just £63,000 on maintaining the bridge over two terms up until 2014. I'm not making a party political point but just making it clear that the bridge was neglected - some people in Chiswick would spend more on maintaining their houses over the same period.Normally if you have a listed asset and you can't afford to maintain it you would sell it but that wasn't an option available to the council. More broadly we can't tolerate bits of our national heritage being lost simply because it wasn't looked after properly.Therefore it has to be restored but at the moment it is not clear who is going to pay for it. What I have been told is that the most likely solution for the second phase of the project will be that TfL will be given greater leeway to spend money on the bridge avoiding an embarrassment to Andy Burnham of funding an expensive project in that there London. If TfL are being asked to sort it out - it will be reopened to buses and cars. An announcement next year ahead of the Mayoral elections is predicted by some.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 9d

>A hopeless endeavour, they should just close the thing and let it rot.10,000 trips a day across it according to the article on the front page.What's not to like?

Paul James ● 9d