GovWire

Cyclists will be able to cross the historic Hammersmith Bridge safely thanks to government support, with ministers delivering a further 3 million investment resurfacing the bridge to provide a new cycle lane.

Once the resurfacing works are completed, cyclists will no longer have to dismount from their bikes and use the separate footpath, allowing them to cross the bridge quickly and separately from pedestrians.

A temporary cycle lane was installed by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on 13 February 2024, which is set to be open until the stabilisation works resume in May 2024.

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham owns the bridge and is responsible for its maintenance, with this new government funding enabling the introduction of a new, fully resurfaced cycle lane expected in November this year, until further strengthening work can begin. This cycle lane will be a significant upgrade on the existing temporary cycle lane.

The government played a pivotal role in ensuring the bridge was reopened to cyclists and pedestrians and for river traffic to pass underneath the bridge in July 2021, after it was shut in 2019 following the discovery of cracks in its pedestals.

This latest investment takes total funding from the department to support the bridge to almost 13 million, as ministers continue to work closely with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Transport for London (TfL) to fully reopen the bridge to traffic as soon as possible, subject to costs.

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, said:

Todays new funding is the latest example of the governments ongoing commitment to support efforts to reopen Hammersmith Bridge.

Cyclists and pedestrians will be able to continue to use the bridge safely, with this latest funding from government another important step towards fully reopening the bridge for motorists and all Londoners as quickly as possible.

Of the nearly 13 million government investment provided so far, an initial 4 million went towards immediate mitigation works to the structure, which involved blast cleaning and inspections to the bridges pedestals, helping ensure there were no long-term risks to its reopening.

The department thenprovided 2.9 millionto the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to stabilise the bridge in 2022, with an additional 2.5 million invested in 2023 to inspect the structure.