The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Hammersmith Bridge taskforce has doubled down on its previous assertion that the embattled Victorian structure could be partially reopened, to pedestrians and cyclists, as early as April, once ongoing inspections of the western pedestals is completed.
… crack in the bridge’s cast iron pedestals had widened…
… the public cannot be allowed to use the bridge until it is repaired…
New Civil Engineering writes:
The bridge has been closed to all traffic since August after council leaders warned that the bridge faced “catastrophic collapse” after engineers noted that a crack in the bridge’s cast iron pedestals had widen….
…reports conclude that the bridge could be reopened to cyclists and pedestrians with minimal work needed.
However, Hammersmith Bridge’s Board for the Case for the Continued Safe Operation (CCSO) – made up of engineers from Mott MacDonald, WSP, Xanta and the council itself – has since concluded that “the public cannot be allowed to use the bridge until it is repaired because it has proved to be unstable and still contains unknowable features”.
Plans to develop a temporary ferry service at the site also continue to gather pace. In a separate project, update Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce member Dana Skelley confirmed that three bidders had been shortlisted by TfL to build the infrastructure needed to run the ferry service….
The Foster & Partners solution involves building a new raised truss structure above the existing road deck featuring a lower level for pedestrians and cyclists and an upper level for cars and buses.
Under the proposal pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles can use the bridge, with river traffic passing underneath.
