Forum Topic

Justine's petition for reopening of Hammersmith Bridge

On the front page, I hope everyone signs it.  I still don't understand why H&F are responsible, is it because Wandsworth is responsible for Putney Bridge?

Bunny Payne ● 2743d11 Comments

ah yes......but in 2014 Wandsworth got the money from TFL to repair Putney Bridge, as did K&C for Albert BridgeAnother thing i find interesting, they say that the bridge never fully recovered from the IRA bomb (they only did patch jobs since then). Surely the bridge would have had insurance for this sort of thing (i work in a rail arch and we have to have building insurance that covers acts of terrorism, it seems to be standard with public buildings and structures). Anyway, if it did have insurance what has happened to that money?

Emarisa Battoia ● 2743d

I thought TFL was responsible for the funding of Hammersmith Bridge repairs.  They withdrew the funding hence H&F Council had no alternative other than to close the bridge for safety reasons.From memory, an extended closure of Hammersmith Bridge was on the cards recently but never materialized.I would rather the bridge is closed if deemed unsafe.  However, that does not mean we should not hold those responsible accountable for this dreadful mess.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2743d

Exactly Ivonne, so i do not understand the wording or the point of the petition. It seems more like a political game to blame a Labour Council (and Mayor). Yes H&F have known about it for years Ms Greening and they planned and arranged funding for major works to take place. And then the funding was withdrawn, so why she is petitioning H&F and not the Government / TFL i really don't understand?

Emarisa Battoia ● 2743d

I agree but I think we do not know all the ins-and-outs of things.  A political move?  More than likely but there is more than meets the eye!

Ivonne Holliday ● 2743d

Boris Johnson should pay for it - he squandered huge amounts of money on the Garden Bridge idea - full repair will cost millions. I'd sign a petition to demand that he does - happily

Lynne McNulty ● 2742d

It's politically motivated - she probably anticipates a general election and is jumping on a bandwagon, seeing a Labour council and mayor as east targets.

David Beeney ● 2742d

This petition does seem to be worded such as to make a political point. This news item from the H&F website seems to make it clear why it's been closed at short notice:https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/articles/news/2019/04/hammersmith-bridge-closedPerhaps H&F should have taken preemptive action earlier but as they say in the US "we are where we are" and someone has to stump up the cash, and its probably not reasonable or practicable that H&F tax council tax payers should foot the bill given its importance to the London road network and surrounding boroughs. Johnson's extravagant waste of money on vanity projects such as the Garden Bridge, water cannon, etc don't help; pity he wasn't left hanging on the Emirates cable car which I understand also isn't a great financial success.Given the current wording I won't be signing it. I understand Justine Greening is trying to get this debated in Parliament so something might arise from that?

Michael Ixer ● 2742d

All interesting comments, but I still don't understand why H&F Council are being blamed, they even report it on the news.  (Which we know is squeaky clean and not biased at all) lol

Bunny Payne ● 2742d

They are being blamed as part of the political game arent they....

Emarisa Battoia ● 2742d

Sadly all very political, in Barnes Zac Goldsmith has said TfL are now in charge rather than Hammersmith & Fulham.  It is then claimed...TfL have said that they are yet to see the final report from engineers Mott McDonald who have been estimating the level of repairs required. In March Mott McDonald suggested that after TfL saw the report, a detailed specification for the agreed level of repairs (choices varying in degrees from making the bridge pedestrians & cyclists only to allowing double decker buses to cross it) would be made. They also said the specification would take six to seven months. The subsequent tenders for work on the bridge would take four to five months.This would mean a wait of a year before work on the bridge actually commenced. The programme of work had been estimated at around 18 months. All of this points to a minimum closure of 2.5 years but now it appears that TfL are in charge we may need to wait for their estimates rather than rely on previous ones.

Adrian Pearce ● 2742d

https://twitter.com/georgemonbiot/status/1119987294994411521It's Business as Usual which is the problem.

Philippa Bond ● 2742d