Wandsworth Bridge has closed to vehicle traffic for ten weeks from Monday to carry out “vital” repair works.
Wandsworth Council said the closure of the river crossing, which links Wandsworth town to Putney, was needed “to safeguard the long-term future of this key river crossing”.
Pedestrians are still able to cross, as are cyclists, though they will have to dismount and push their bikes.
Several bus routes, including the 28, 295 and C3, will not cross the river.
Others, such as route N28 will be diverted and cross on Battersea Bridge to the east.
Drivers needing to cross the Thames can also use nearby Chiswick and Kew Bridges.
The closure is likely to add further congestion to west London since Hammersmith Bridge was closed to vehicles on safety grounds in 2019, with no date set for its full reopening.
The contractor leading the works on the 83-year-old Wandsworth Bridge last week vowed it was not at risk of becoming another Hammersmith Bridge fiasco.
Sam Emmett told the Standard: “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.”
The work involves removing the road surface and lifting Wandsworth Bridge, one end at a time, by a few millimetres so that corroded weight-bearing parts can be replaced.
The work was initially meant to have been carried out last summer but preparatory work overran.
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.”
