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Hammersmith Bridge: DfT funding plan 'shows contempt for Londoners'

Reuters Hammersmith BridgeReuters
The 134-year-old crossing in west London was shut to all users last year

The government will pay no more than a third of the cost of fully repairing Hammersmith Bridge, the Department for Transport (DfT) has said.

The 134-year-old crossing was entirely closed last year when cracks in the pedestals worsened during a heatwave.

The DfT said itself, Transport for London (TfL) and Hammersmith and Fulham Council (LBHF) must each agree to cover "a share" of the estimated £100m bill.

The council accused the government of having "contempt" for Londoners.

The announcement was made as the DfT unveiled details of TfL's latest £1.08bn funding package,.

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In a letter, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wrote "TfL and the London boroughs are responsible for local road maintenance, including bridge repairs."

He said costs to repair Hammersmith Bridge would have to be "led by LBHF and TfL" and the government would "not directly contribute more than one third of the costs".

The west London crossing is owned by LBHF, and council leader Stephen Cowan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the costs being "imposed" on the council were "unprecedented".

"That is tens of millions of pounds more than any other London council has ever paid for bridge repairs and comes on top of the record £8.6m we are already paying."

TfL said it was "still in discussions with the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce about how the total funding is split fairly" between the three parties.

Foster + Partners/COWI Proposed double-decker bridgeFoster + Partners/COWI
A double-decker bridge has been proposed by the council as a temporary solution

Final plans to fix the the bridge have yet to be decided but the work is expected to be in two stages.

Strengthening work to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross would take place first.

The council has then proposed a temporary double-decker structure to be put in place for motorists to use while the original bridge is fixed.

A Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce meeting at the end of April was told a long-awaited replacement ferry service, which would take passengers across the Thames while the crossing is being fixed, is expected to be in operation "by late summer".