It has been quite interesting to see how the coverage of the Hammersmith Bridge debacle has developed. By the time it made it into the national press the focus was entirely on the ending of hopes that government funding would be forthcoming for a full reopening. This is not inaccurate, there seems to be now zero chance of this happening within the next decade if at all, but we already knew this would be the case if the Structures Fund wasn't going to provide the money. The scenario appears to have been that the Department for Transport decided that the money needed for Hammersmith Bridge was too big a proportion of the Structures Fund perhaps mindful that a prime minister with a more northern outlook was about to arrive. Also there was a previously undisclosed timeout on the funding which required work to be complete by 2030. It therefore appears to have originated the suggestion that a 'phased reopening' be the strategy i.e. further strengthening and restoration but no motor vehicles. Hammersmith & Fulham Council is clearly very cross about this as it put a huge amount of money into restoring the bridge on the basis that it was an investment in full reopening (possibly with payback through a toll). They are now demanding refunds from both TfL and DfT of money they have spent and appear to be making this a condition of accepting any grant from the Structures Fund. If this situation can't be resolved quickly (and it has been rumbling on for some time) the money from the Structures Fund will go elsewhere. Then Hammersmith & Fulham say they will be spending the statutory minimum on the bridge which amounts to enough to stop it falling down. This will mean that in the not too distant future the bridge will have to be closed to pedestrians and cyclists as well. The point is implicit in the article published on this site but when I went back and read the full report, I felt that it had been underplayed. As most subsequent reporting was based on this original coverage, this looming problem seems to be slipping under the radar.

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
Is the real point being missed on Hammersmith Bridge?	09/07/26 09:19:00	Jeremy Parkinson
Re:Is the real point being missed on Hammersmith Bridge?	09/07/26 13:54:00	Mark Evans

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