Hammersmith Bridge: Sadiq Khan in fierce row with government over closure
City Hall and the government have today locked horns over who is responsible for the closed Hammersmith Bridge in what is becoming a heated row.
The government announced today it was creating a Hammersmith Bridge taskforce that will be responsible for getting the West London river crossing open again.
The group, which will be led by transport minister Baroness Charlotte Vere, will look at getting the 133-year-old bridge open for cycling and walking “as soon as safely possible” and re-opening the bridge to vehicles “in time”.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said there had been a “lack of leadership in London on re-opening this vital bridge” in a clear jab at mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the Hammersmith and Fulham council.
Hammersmith Bridge was closed to vehicles last year due to potentially dangerous cracks, but stayed open for cyclists and pedestrians.
Last month, during the heatwave, it was also closed to cyclists and pedestrians as the cracks widened and fears grew of a “catastrophic failure”.
A spokesperson for mayor of London Sadiq Khan hit back at the government for not providing funding required for the repairs, which is believed to be in the vicinity of £140m.
“Londoners need the government to pay to get Hammersmith Bridge repaired and reopened — they do not need another talking shop that will just lead to more delay and disruption,” they said.
“The mayor and TfL will continue working closely with the bridge owners Hammersmith and Fulham council and the government to find an urgent solution, but it’s time for ministers to put their money where their mouth is.”
Today’s announcement from Shapps did not come with any guarantee of long-term funding for the restoration of the bridge.
“We won’t let hard-working Londoners suffer any longer – the government is setting up a taskforce establish the next steps in opening the bridge as speedily as possible,” Shapps said.
“We’ll be decisive and quick to make sure we can take steps that’ll be good for commuters, good for residents and good for business.”
In March, Transport for London (TfL) unveiled plans for a temporary cyclist and pedestrian bridge alongside the Hammersmith Bridge.
The temporary structure would provide a river crossing for the 16,000 pedestrians and cyclists who use the heritage listed bridge every day.
A spokesperson for TfL said the body would only be able to build the temporary crossing once it has funding approved for the restoration of the Hammersmith Bridge by government.
Conservative London Assembly member Tony Devenish today called for “a temporary crossing in place as swiftly as possible”.