£250m fiasco

Five years since it closed, three authorities in funding stalemate, a taskforce’ that hasn’t met for over two years and now they say bridge might never reopen to traffic

- Ross Lydall

THE cost of repairing Hammersmith Bridge has soared to £250 million raising fears that the Thames crossing will never reopen to vehicles.

The latest estimate, up about £100 million on previous expectations, comes as the fifth anniversary approaches of the 137-year-old bridge being closed on safety grounds.

Discussions on funding the repairs have reached a stalemate, with a government taskforce having last met more than two years ago. Sources admit there is no sign of a breakthrough, despite ongoing anger from residents.

MPs whose constituents have been blighted by the closure said the growing size of the repair bill made it "increasingly unlikely" the bridge would ever fully reopen. Sarah Olney, the Lib Dem MP for Richmond Park, told the Standard: "I think it's increasingly possible that it won't reopen to traffic."

The bridge, a Grade II*-listed iron structure that opened in 1887, used to carry about 22,000 vehicles a day and seven bus routes. It was closed in April 2019 by Hammersmith and Fulham council after safety sensors on the bridge, which links Hammersmith and Barnes, detected "dangerous micro-fractures" in the pedestals that hold the suspension system in place.

It partly reopened in July 2021 to pedestrians and cyclists. Since 2019, drivers have had to divert via Chiswick or Putney bridges.