Railway footbridge beside Chiswick Village closed after ‘serious structural defects’ discovered

Footbridge between Brooks Road, north of the railway line, and Waldeck Road, south of the line at Strand on the Green; Photograph Rhian Williams

Residents complain of noise and lack of communication from Network Rail

The footbridge over the railway between Chiswick Village and Strand on the Green has been closed for maintenance.

There has been no advance notice of the work, a resident of Chiswick Village told The Chiswick Calendar, but the bridge was shut on Friday (24 July) and men who started work on the bridge at 9.00 am on Saturday told her they would be here every Saturday and Sunday for the next five weeks.

“They were still at it until 9.45 pm”, she told us on Saturday. “No comms at all about this”.

Workmen were jet washing the structure, which was very noisy, she told us.

Cllr Rick Rowe, Green Party councillor for Chiswick Riverside, phoned Network Rail, who told him the bridge was closed after engineers discovered ‘serious structural defects’ during a routine inspection ahead of planned maintenance works.

This is the second time within the past year this has happened.

In August 2025 the bridge was suddenly closed when engineers identified ‘several structural faults in the timber beams that support the bridge span’.

It is rather alarming that this has happened again so soon.

READ ALSO: Footbridge over the railway at Strand on the Green shut suddenly for emergency repairs

“Public safety must always come first”, said Rick.

“If engineers identify a structure that is no longer safe, closing it is absolutely the right decision.

“What is not acceptable is that residents were left without any meaningful communication.

“This bridge is an important pedestrian route used every day by people accessing local transport links, commuting to work and travelling across the railway.

“Residents should not have been left to discover the closure for themselves”.

Cllr Rick Rowe

Having had complaints from residents that the noise was stopping children from sleeping, Cllr Rowe raised the issue of the noise with the site manager and Network Rail, he told us.

“I’m pleased they have responded by stopping the noisiest activities while engineers complete their structural assessment”.

The site manager told him the jet washing should be finished by 1.00 pm on Sunday (26 July).

He explained the extensive jet washing has been necessary to remove years of old paint and rust so engineers could properly inspect the steelwork underneath and assess the full extent of the structural damage before repairs began.

Network Rail confirmed the bridge would remain closed while the work was carried out, and the works were expected to take around five weeks.