It’s now just over six months since the Bridge was closed to pedestrians and cyclists, and over 22 months since it was closed to traffic, yet there is neither a Bridge repair contract nor an alternative crossing facility in place. Repair work will not progress until there is forward funding to pay the estimated £128M cost (over and above TfL funded temporary stabilisation works). Government funding has been offered conditional on a LBHF contribution of £64M, 50% of the cost, as reported in last weekend’s Observer. This is evidently way beyond the LBHF resources; whilst there has been media reference to the potential of council reserves, the 2019 external auditors report states “…Council do have ongoing financial pressures, which need to be addressed in the medium term… As a result, the Council is now maintaining a reserves position that is below the average when compared to other London Boroughs”.  Government funding for local authorities has been considerably reduced in recent years, and an uplift in council tax, aside from social and political issues, would only generate additional income of around £650K per 1% rise.

Foster & Partners bridge proposal

Hammersmith Bridge would seem to be a unique and most deserving case for special funding, and it is so frustrating that the critical issue of project financing is not addressed in the government Task Force meetings, despite its obvious importance. However we understand that, separate to the Task Force meetings, LBHF have been exploring initiatives which draw on the private sector, not only in the Foster/Ritblat temporary bridge proposal, but also investigating the viability of private funding, secured on an income stream provided by a toll: this financing method which has been used for a number of other UK bridges, including in London, the Dartford Crossing. LBHF residents would be likely to cross toll-free. We understand LBHF have now submitted a comprehensive financial plan to Grant Shapps based on this funding approach.  Consideration might be given to 1% of the toll to be set aside for social funding in Hammersmith, similar to the arrangement on the London Eye ticket price.

Some valuable comparative information has emerged regarding the financing of other London bridges. For the recent £9.6M repairs to Albert Bridge, RBKC paid £2.6M in line with many other bridge repairs as recent research indicates, while TfL paid £7M. The £9M refurbishment of Chiswick Bridge was paid for by TfL. Since TfL are out of funds, the recent upgrade of Wandsworth Bridge was paid for by Wandsworth Council – but since the bridge is a simple cantilever structure, fabricated in steel in 1940, the overall cost was only around £6M, less than 6% of the bill for the 1887 Hammersmith Bridge.

These comparative repair costs highlight the unique problems with the bridge, an ornate, Grade II* listed structure constructed from cast iron and wood in 1887, two years after the first internal combustion engine came off the Benz production line. Before the traffic closure in April 2019, over 20,000 vehicles and 2,000 single-decker buses were crossing the Bridge daily; until total closure in August 2020 16,000 pedestrians and cyclists were crossing daily. Until 1998 heavy goods vehicles and double-decker buses were using the Bridge.

The Bridge is clearly not fit for this purpose. If the outward appearance of the Bridge is to be retained, then within the decorative outer claddings the structure has to be not repaired, but replaced, to create a Bridge which is able to sustain the demands of 21st century traffic.  We discuss this in more detail in the accompanying article.

Site work and a temporary crossing

Site work: Current activity on site is limited to the stripping back and investigation of the two up-river pedestals, which secure the ends of the suspension cables on the west side. This work is being undertaken by Kier contractors and funded from the £1.8 billion second TfL bail-out received from the government in November.

Ferry crossing: Potential ferry operators have been invited to offer proposals which will accommodate up to 800 people and cyclists per hour, operating from 6am to 10pm, procured and funded by TfL. Operators are invited to select a ferry location within a zone between Chiswick Mall and the start of the Wetland Centre opposite the Crabtree pub. A planning application has been submitted to Richmond Council for the development of the redundant wharf in front of the former Harrods Depository building down-river from the bridge, to provide facilities for a ferry terminal.

The Foster temporary bridge:  We reported on the radical temporary bridge proposal in November. The proposal was welcomed by the Task Force, and LBHF have now commissioned a full viability study from Fosters, which will include confirmation of cost and programme details – initially estimated at circa £50M cost and about 6 months delivery.

Early limited opening unlikely: the government suggestion in December that LBHF structural engineers have been over-cautious, and the Bridge could now be opened for pedestrians, appears to have been set aside following a more thorough review of the LBHF engineers’ reports – and the prospect of the government having to take responsibility for the consequences of any structural failures which might ensue.

The Society is in regular contact with LBHF, we have been in touch with the Task force chair Baroness Vere and the government Project Director Dana Skelley, we have a one-way correspondence with Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, and we await a response to our recent approach to Historic England.