{"id":22560,"date":"2019-05-03T17:46:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T16:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=22560"},"modified":"2019-05-03T17:46:19","modified_gmt":"2019-05-03T16:46:19","slug":"ihbcs-heritage-from-the-bridges-deck-hammersmith-bridge-closed-indefinitely-after-critical-faults-discovered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=22560","title":{"rendered":"IHBC\u2019s \u2018Heritage from the bridge\u2019s deck\u2019: Hammersmith Bridge closed indefinitely after ‘critical faults’ discovered"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"website\"<\/a>Hammersmith Bridge has been closed indefinitely after safety checks revealed \u2018critical faults\u2019, The Evening Standard<\/em> writes, as Hammersmith and Fulham Council claimed government budget cuts left Transport for London unable to complete urgent repairs on the crossing.<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

The Evening Standard<\/em> writes:<\/p>\n

Hammersmith and Fulham Council claimed government budget cuts left Transport for London unable to complete urgent repairs on the crossing, leaving it with \u2018no choice\u2019 but to shut the bridge to motorists. A statement on its website said the council had a \u2018fully tested plan to refurbish the bridge and we\u2019re ready to start work\u2019 but today\u2019s move was a \u2018huge disappointment.\u2019 Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the bridge, which links Barnes and Hammersmith, but cars and buses will be forced to follow diversions until further notice.,.<\/p>\n

The statement said: \u2018We\u2019ve had to urgently close Hammersmith Bridge to motorists because of safety concerns. Our weekly safety checks have revealed critical faults and we have no choice but to shut the bridge. We\u2019re sorry we couldn\u2019t give you more warning. We have a fully tested plan to refurbish the bridge and we\u2019re ready to start work. But, due to government budget cuts, Transport for London (TfL) says it can no longer fund the planned refurbishment. This is a huge disappointment. Regrettably, we\u2019ve now been left with no option but to close the bridge indefinitely until the refurbishment costs can be met. So we\u2019re supporting TfL\u2019s call for the government to invest in this vital river crossing and national monument \u2013 so we can get on with the work and reopen the bridge. Hundreds of daily journeys by heavy buses cause regular distress to the bridge. That\u2019s why we agreed with TfL in 2015 that they would only run one bus in each direction at one time, while we developed a longer-term strengthening plan. But this damage has now reached a critical point. Closing the bridge is not a decision we\u2019ve taken lightly and we know it will inconvenience many people. We\u2019re sorry for that disruption, but we must put the safety of the public first.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Grade II listed bridge was opened in 1887 and was \u2018not built for modern traffic.\u2019\u00a0 It has been regularly closed in recent years, with emergency repairs having taken place last summer. A TfL spokesperson said: \u2018Following the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham\u2019s decision to close Hammersmith Bridge, six bus routes have been diverted or now stop short of their destination. Customers should check our real time channels for the latest travel information. We are working closely with the borough to minimise disruption.\u2019<\/p>\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hammersmith Bridge has been closed indefinitely after safety checks revealed \u2018critical faults\u2019, The Evening Standard writes, as Hammersmith and Fulham Council claimed government budget cuts left Transport for London unable to complete urgent repairs on the crossing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22562,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22560\/revisions\/22562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}