Dear Secretary of State,
Hammersmith Bridge has been closed to motor traffic since April 2019, with knock-on disruption to residents, businesses, disabled people, parents and tradespeople across a wide catchment of West London. Londoners are being forced to live with a strategic road link permanently broken by indecision.
In June 2021, Government set out a funding framework in principle: a three-way arrangement between the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF), Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT), intended to be formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). That MoU was never signed and since then the project has drifted into stalemate.
Nearly seven years after closure, the public can see that their money is being spent, but the core problem is not being solved. Almost £48m has already gone on stabilisation and “pre-restoration” activity and yet still motor vehicles cannot cross the Bridge. It took just over 2 years for the Bridge designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette to be built in 1887. And yet, in the 21st Century, we have gone six years without a funded, accountable programme to restore motor access.
This is now a governance failure as much as an engineering challenge. No single decision-maker is being held accountable for restoring cross-river motor connectivity on a defined timetable. That must change now.
Full restoration work must begin immediately. Whilst repairs are undertaken to the existing structure, a functional road crossing must be constructed now by authorising and fast-tracking a downstream Temporary Road Bridge.
Instruct the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce today to proceed with delivery of the downstream Temporary Road Bridge so motor vehicles can use the crossing within the next 3 months.
Commit to a full restoration of Hammersmith Bridge, with an implementation timetable and funding mechanism that will deliver the project with a named accountable lead.
Nothing works in Britain anymore. It’s time to change that. Step in and get this done. Connect our capital city once again.