Hammersmith Bridge closes to pedestrians

August 2020

Hammersmith Bridge closes.

Stabilisation work

Work started in December 2020 to stabilise the bridge. It is expected to take about 11 months but once completed, will allow limited reopening for pedestrians and cyclists and river traffic to flow beneath it. Limited river crossings are now allowed at specific times every Sunday.

Bridge closes

Hammersmith Bridge closed to traffic in April 2019 and closed to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic in August 2020. It has caused travel chaos to pedestrians and motorists on either side of the river and on the river itself. It is estimated that £46 million is needed to stabilise Hammersmith Bridge and make it safe for pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic and up to £141 million to restore the bridge fully so it can be reopened to buses and motor vehicles. The bridge is unlikely to be fully operational until 2027.

Prior to its full closure 16,000 people crossed the river on foot or bike every day, in addition to the 20,000 vehicles.

Engineers working for LBHF established that the roller bearings on top of the pedestals which support the bridge’s suspension chains at either end of the bridge had seized. This prevents some necessary movement in the structure and resulted in loading of the cast iron pedestals, which isn’t what they were designed for. This resulted in some additional micro-fractures appearing in some of the pedestals. Micro-fractures have been a feature of the pedestals for some time, some probably dating back to the time of the bridge’s construction, known as casting defects.

The bridge is monitored using an acoustic monitoring system. In August 2020, one of the 13 cracks already in the north-east pedestal was found to have grown. As a result, LBHF, after consulting its engineers, decided to close the bridge to all traffic.