Reopening of Hammersmith Bridge finally appears to be on the Government’s agenda

Hammersmith Bridge; photograph Nick Raikes

Roads Minister considers Hammersmith Bridge “a good candidate” for investment

The Department for Transport announced on Friday 27 February that Hammersmith Bridge ‘would be a good candidate for investment’ from the Structures fund – a pot of money earmarked to repair ‘run down bridges, decaying flyovers and worn-out tunnels across the country’ which was introduced by the Chancellor last year.

Simon Lightwood MP

Roads minister Simon Lightwood wrote:

“We believe that Hammersmith Bridge would be a good candidate for investment from the fund, and we intend to consider the viability of future funding for the next stage of works through this route”.

He set out a number of assessments that need to be made before the Government can take a decision on funding and has launched a survey with local authorities and stakeholders “to request their views on our proposed approach for the fund”.

He continued: “Funding will be contingent on identifying a cost-effective engineering solution within a reasonable timescale that is affordable within the constraints of the fund”.

In April the bridge will have been closed to vehicular traffic for seven years, and some environmental campaigners would like it to stay that way.

Andy Slaughter MP

Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith & Chiswick, wrote in his guest blog for The Chiswick Calendar last week that the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce is due to reconvene soon. It needs to resolve two issues, he wrote, if progress is to be made:

The first is to reach agreement on the costings and method of repair. The second is to provide up-to-date traffic data showing how the closure is affecting surrounding routes, including the A316 and Chiswick Bridge.

Environmental campaigners argue the anticipated gridlock of traffic on other bridges across the Thames resulting from the closure of Hammersmith Bridge has not materialised.

READ ALSO: Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce to reconvene, funding questions remain and the long wait for a decision – MP Andy Slaughter’s guest blog

Hammersmith Bridge remains one of the most important unresolved transport issues affecting West London, Andy added, and he continues to raise it with government at all levels.

‘I have been writing regularly to the Department for Transport to keep the issue at the forefront of their work and have received assurances that preparations for a further meeting are under way’, he wrote.

Deputy Mayor of London Seb Dance

London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance has also been lobbying the Minister to make the case for London to be eligible for funding under the Structures Fund since the £1 billion transport infrastructure fund was announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement last year.

In his letter on Friday, Road Minister Simon Lightwood concluded:

“The design of the fund will be finalised after the survey and any funding for Hammersmith Bridge would be subject to the same controls and eligibility criteria as other schemes funded through the Structures Fund”.

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