The contractor leading repair work on Wandsworth Bridge today pledged the 10-week closure was not at risk of becoming another Hammersmith Bridge fiasco.
Sam Emmett said the “essential” refurbishment of the 83-year-old bridge, which links Wandsworth town and Fulham, should be finished by the end of September, weather permitting.
He told the Standard: “What we are hoping to achieve through these works is to avoid that eventually. We are trying to be as proactive as possible and address the issue now.
“We can never give a 100 per cent guarantee… but we are as confident as we can be that we will complete within the 10 weeks.”
Wandsworth Council will close the bridge from Monday (July 24) to all motorists. Several bus routes, including the 28, 295 and C3, will not cross the river. Other routes will be diverted. But pedestrians will still be able to cross, as will cyclists – though they will have to dismount and push their bikes.
Drivers needing to cross the Thames will be able to use Chiswick and Kew Bridges to the west or Battersea Bridge to the east.
But this is likely to add to congestion suffered in west London since Hammersmith Bridge was closed to vehicles on safety grounds in 2019, with no date set for its full reopening.
The work involves removing the road surface and lifting Wandsworth Bridge, one end at a time, by a few millimetres to allow corroded weight-bearing parts to be replaced. The work was initially meant to have been carried out last summer but preparatory work overran.
The council says delaying the work would lead to longer closures in future. It has been timed to coincide with the school summer holidays, when traffic levels are typically 20 per cent lower.
Mr Emmett said there would be “extensive steel strengthening works”. He said: “If you waited, you are introducing a significant risk of major damage to the structure and a prolonged closure far in excess of 10 weeks.”
Jenny Yates, Wandsworth’s cabinet member for transport said: “Our primary objective is to complete this vital job as efficiently and as quickly as possible so there is the least amount of disruption possible to residents.”
