TfL confirms flyover will remain shut

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TfL confirms flyover will remain shut

Friday January 6, 2012

Hammersmith Flyover will remain closed for at least another week while engineers analyse the extent of water damage on a stretch of the road more than half a mile long, according to Transport for London (TfL).

Mayor of London Boris Johnson visited the structure today (Jan 6) to personally inspect the ailing bridge as the council calls for the short term works to be started and completed as soon as possible and for planning on a longer term replacement for the flyover to start immediately.

However, TfL engineers are still not able to confirm whether the structure is strong enough to reopen – on a partial or full basis – even to light traffic. That decision is not expected to be made until the end of next week, following analysis on the extent of the damage.

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council says the repair works must be carried out as quickly as possible to minimise further disruption to motorists, residents and businesses in the area, who have been hit hard by the closure. TfL says that workers will be busy ‘day and night’ to fix the flyover and is encouraging motorists to avoid the area and take alternative routes.

H&F Council Deputy leader Cllr Nick Botterill, said: “It is good news that the Mayor and TfL are now on the case, but the progress needs to be fast and the problem must be solved as soon as possible.

“This closure has not only been terrible for H&F, but also for the whole of London and, in fact, the entire country, causing travel disruption for the millions of motorists locally and those using the M4 and major routes. This is one of London’s busiest roads, with 90,000 vehicles passing over it every day, and the closure is causing traffic chaos, far and wide.

“The repair works are a short-term solution to prolong the life of this 50-year-old structure and planning needs to start in earnest for a replacement to the flyover. Local people and H&F Council need to be at the heart of any future plans for a replacement, being central to the decision making process right from the start. We simply cannot leave such a vital part of our economy vulnerable again and need a fool-proof scheme.

”Our residents and businesses need the flyover sorted out and we are urging TfL to work around the clock and keep us informed at every stage.”

The flyover has been closed since December 23, when a TfL inspection found that tensioning cables that offer support within the structure had corroded, due to water and salt from grit leaking into the structure. As well as visual inspections by engineers, camera investigations have been carried out at 100 locations along the bridge, evaluating key sections of cable within the flyover.

Local traffic diversions and signs advising drivers to avoid the area, including on the M4 and M25 and on other major routes, are in place. TfL is also working with the council and utility companies to curtail any non-urgent road works in the local area in a bid to minimise disruption and help ease traffic flow. TfL is also re-phasing hundreds of traffic signals in the area and has created an extra lane on Talgarth Road.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London said: “I feel the pain of the thousands of motorists who have been affected by this closure. Everything possible is being done to reopen the flyover but most importantly Transport for London have assured me that local people living and working in the vicinity of the structure are safe to use the surrounding roads while repairs take place. I can assure everyone affected that the flyover will not remain closed a minute longer than is absolutely necessary.”

Leon Daniels, TfL’s managing director of surface transport, said: “Our team continues to work night and day alongside the world’s leading structural engineers to fully understand the extent of the flyover’s structural problems. A solution which will allow the flyover to be fully open to traffic before the Olympics is now being implemented and we will re-open the flyover to traffic as soon as it is safe to do so'.

“Safety remains our top priority and we are working flat-out to put the necessary measures in place to safely reopen the flyover as soon as possible. In the meantime, I continue to urge drivers to avoid the area if they can or allow more time for their journeys. I apologise for the disruption, but assure Londoners we are doing all we can to reopen the flyover and to minimise the disruption the closure is causing.”

Until TfL can ensure the flyover is safe to be reopened to traffic, motorists are being advised to avoid the area if at all possible or allow more time for their journeys.

» Send us your comments now

I live close to the west end of the Hammersmith Flyover. Closing the flyover has reduced the noise and congestion on the south side at the junction with the Great West Road. And there are no "boy racers" with screaming exhausts going over the flyover at night in either direction. This is good for my house. But the traffic going into London on the north side of the Great West Rd is very slow moving and the fumes in Riverside Gardens next to Hammersmith Town Hall must be really bad.

There seems to be little impact further afield on the west side: King Street and Glenthorne Road approaching the Broadway are less congested than usual. The Broadway gyratory system is free moving. The approach to and from Hammersmith Bridge under the flyover is clear. The top of the Fulham Palace Road is improved by the new road layout and there are no tailbacks. The message to avoid the area has got through to the many drivers who only use the flyover as a through route.

Hammersmith Council should ask the big headquarters at and near the Broadway whether the closure has affected their businesses.

Speaking for myself, I would like the flyover to just demolished.
From Una Hodgkins on 11/01/2012 at 11:49
I am pleased to see safety is at the front of the decision making processes. Most importantly is the safety of the people working on the flyover. No pressure should be placed on the contractors, politically or otherwise, just to get the flyover ready in-time for the Olympics.

I agree that plans for a replacement structure should go ahead immediately. Time should not be lost on point scoring by those whose responsibility this enormous task lies.

Let us get on with the job and have a new flyover that we can be proud of for many years to come.
From chang on 11/01/2012 at 11:31
On Friday around 2pm I walked to Barons Court tube - the lights/crossing were "closed" on the eastern side so I had to cross over to the college in order to cross the talgarth road; all very well but there is no pedestrian crossing facilty and one plays chicken with traffic turning into gliddon road from talgarth road - not a good solution so hope this can be thought through a bit more carefully.
From smd on 07/01/2012 at 16:35
If a replacement is seriously on the cards, then it could be seen as an opportunity to re-consider integrating an underpass from Hammersmith to the Hogarth roundabout, mostly paid for by housing along the re-joined roads that were bisected by the the Great West Road when it was built. I.e. a Boston "big dig" under the tube lines instead of replacing it with another eyesore of a flyover. This also solves the problem of the unwanted bridge connected to the proposed Hammersmith Town Hall redevelopment. Who knows, it could even release enough land that a locally acceptable development proposal could be created?

Thinking about it, given the co-incident timing of the flyover problem, and withdrawal of planning app, I now need to see independent proof there is a problem with the flyover!
From Richard Farthing on 07/01/2012 at 16:22
this is all fantatic news for us. We own a paint shop in Trussley Road w6, now the traffic has trebbled, thus more people realising where we are!!! Great for business!!!!!!!!!
From dawes on 06/01/2012 at 18:18
It does make life difficult but I think people have to understand that these things happen in life and we will inevitably all survive this dilemma !!! Good luck to those responsible for solving the problem !!
From Thomas on 06/01/2012 at 17:23

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