Press & Media Coverage
Click on the pictures to see some recent media & press stories about Hammersmith Bridge
(Some stories might be behind a Paywall or require you to create an (often free) account)
19 May 2021
Hammersmith Bridge to reopen in Summer - but still no funding for repair for cars
The Evening Standard
As part of TfL's latest Government bail-out LBH&F will be asked to reopen the bridge to pedestrians and cyclists in return for cash for the interim repairs necessary to keep it open for them. However TfL’s third Covid bailout won't include a commitment to fully reopen the bridge to motor traffic.
24 April 2021
The Times' view on a fitting tribute:
Prince Philip Bridge ?
The Times
Nothing today would be more economically important and symbolic of a long Royal tradition than a new Prince Philip Bridge over the Thames, replacing the expiring Hammersmith Bridge, unsafe and closed at huge cost to traffic, pedestrians and all water traffic below...
4 October 2020
Bridge Of Sighs
The Barnes Village Bugle
Oh the bridge. Where to start? So much has happened this month and yet so little too. Barnes is still marooned and so far nobody has come up with any money for a temporary bridge...
12 September 2020
Decaying bridge Fiasco turns poor old Britain into a laughing stock
THE TIMES
In 92 years Muriel Seaman cannot remember ever feeling this embarrassed for Britain. Causing the shame is a cast-iron suspension bridge over the Thames at Hammersmith, once a monument to Victorian...
8 September 2020
Why is this a bridge too far...
THE DAILY MAIL
It says everything about modern Britain's paralysis: an iconic bridge across the Thames shut even to boats passing beneath it... because squabbling officials can't agree who should pay to fix it
18 May 2021
Is it time to knock down Hammersmith Bridge and start again?
New Civil Engineer
Under the Taskforce’s engineering plan, spearheaded by Dana Skelley, the bridge will not reopen to motorised traffic for at least 6 years. Which begs the question: is it worth it? Retired civil engineer Jon Smith believes its time to “knock down” Hammersmith Bridge and start again.
23 February 2021
Ferry won’t start until summer - with passengers forced to pay
The Evening Standard
TfL say additional time requested by bidders “means it is unlikely ferry will begin before summer”. Residents say plans to charge £1.55 per trip breach their belief that replacement ferry service would be free
1 October 2020
Shaun Bailey interviews Grant Shapps at the Conservative Conference
Shaun Bailey interviews Transport Minister Grant Shapps about Hammersmith Bridge, and thanks him for "providing the money to repair the bridge long term..."
10 September 2020
We must end the Hammersmith Bridge Fiasco
The Evening Standard
After nearly a month of enormous stress for tens of thousands of people living near Hammersmith Bridge, yesterday Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced he was launching a government task force to reopen the closed crossing...
7 September 2020
London Bridges really are falling down
The New York Times
Three major crossing on the Tames are closed to cars - one of them, Hammersmith Bridge, considered too dangerous even to walk across. Even the landmark Tower Bridge was recently shut for two days.
30 April 2021
Why can’t London fix Hammersmith Bridge and Crossrail ?
The Evening Standard
One is a bridge which we can’t use. The other is a tunnel which isn’t open.
Hammersmith Bridge and Crossrail: easy metaphors for a city in trouble. The capital needs to get its confidence back after Covid. Sorting out these embarrassments would help.
10 February 2021
Phantom Sign Swipers, Mental Health, early reopening, TRB and ferry
The Barnes Village Bugle
Articles on our signs, our joint (with the BCA) Mental Health Survey, no early opening of the bridge to pedestrians, feasibility study on the Fosters & Partners TRB and an update on TFL's ferry procurement process
14 September 2020
Hammersmith Bridge farce is apocalyptic for trade, warn businesses
The Evening Standard
Despairing shopkeepers and restaurant owners based on either side of the crippled Hammersmith Bridge today spoke of how trade had collapsed by as much as half since it was closed to pedestrian and cyclists last month.
10 September 2020
Hammersmith Bridge: Task force appointed to reopen crossing
BBC
A Government task force has been launched to reopen Hammersmith Bridge.
Cracks in the pedestals led to motor vehicles being prohibited from using the 133-year-old cast iron bridge in April 2019.
12 September 2020
Hammersmith Bridge: Who will stump up the cash for the repair bill?
ITV NEWS
Furious residents left in limbo by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge are still wondering who will foot the £140m repair bill. The West London bridge has been closed to traffic for over a year and 2 weeks ago all crossings were stopped.