Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce holds 'constructive' meeting in bid to reopen key London road link

A taskforce aimed astatine getting Hammersmith Bridge backmost unfastened to centrifugal vehicles met this week for the archetypal clip successful implicit 3 years.

The radical had held its past gathering nether the erstwhile Conservative Government successful November 2021, but was reconvened connected Thursday day by Labour’s curate for section transport, Simon Lightwood.

The 138-year-old span has been closed to cars, buses and vans since April 2019, erstwhile cracks appeared successful the structure’s pedestals. Only pedestrians, and cyclists who dismount from their bikes, are presently capable to usage its walkways - though the roadworthy moving done the mediate of the span is inactive unopen arsenic it is being redecked.

The outgo of afloat repairing and reopening the span has risen sharply successful the years since it closed, and was estimated past twelvemonth astatine £250m. It is unclear however agelong a afloat repair programme could take, though Putney MP Fleur Anderson told the Standard past week that it could perchance instrumentality until 2035 for the span to reopen.

Under the past Government, it was projected that the Department for Transport (DfT) would wage a 3rd of the full outgo of repairs, with Transport for London (TfL) paying different third. The last 3rd would beryllium picked up by the section assembly - Hammersmith and Fulham - which owns the bridge.

But the borough authorization said it would lone beryllium capable to rise that magnitude of wealth via a roadworthy idiosyncratic complaint oregon toll.

In December 2022, the assembly submitted a ceremonial concern lawsuit to the Government proposing however the span could beryllium afloat repaired - but says it ne'er received a ceremonial effect from Tory ministers.

In total, the assembly is understood to person truthful acold spent immoderate £45m implicit the past six years connected works to reconstruct and stabilise the structure.

Along with the redecking works, engineers are besides replacing the bridge’s corroded, seized components with caller rubber bearings. Once that process is complete, successful the outpouring of this year, the assembly hopes to afloat re-open the full span of the span for pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders.

Thursday’s meeting, chaired by Mr Lightwood, included representatives from the section councils connected either broadside of the span arsenic good arsenic MPs, TfL and City Hall, among others.

Those contiguous astatine the league person stayed tight-lipped astir the nonstop quality of the treatment and whether thing caller was agreed, though Sir Sadiq Khan’s lawman politician for transport, Seb Dance, was said by a City Hall spokeswoman to person recovered the gathering “constructive”.

Another root from wrong the taskforce told the Standard: “There was wide dismay that the past Government had ducked information of Hammersmith and Fulham Council's concern lawsuit for the afloat restoration of the bridge.

“It was felt that 2 years on, this was a bully clip to revisit the concern lawsuit and - fixed the £250m outgo of the task and caller postulation information - to enactment each different options backmost connected the table.”

It is understood that immoderate caller commitments of Government backing for the task volition lone beryllium made arsenic portion of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ broad spending review, which is expected to beryllium acceptable retired successful June of this year.

A DfT spokeswoman said: “We person inherited a challenging concern with Hammersmith Bridge, wherever decisions astir its aboriginal person been ducked for galore years. We recognise the vexation its continued closure is causing motorists.

“We proceed to enactment intimately with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and TfL connected the bridge’s restoration and the Department has provided £13m of backing towards the project.

“The Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce met to see the afloat scope of options disposable and imaginable adjacent steps for the semipermanent aboriginal of the bridge. We volition stock further updates successful owed course.”