London Bridges falling down

Thames river crossings are crucial to the resilience of London’s road network, and when one or more of them are closed for an extended period, the resulting impact is huge.

When Hammersmith Bridge closed to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists last year, causing serious congestion, London got a wake-up call. How can our ageing major transport assets be managed more effectively, with population growth, commuting, climate change and extreme weather conditions putting them at risk?

The London Assembly Transport Committee has today published the report ‘London’s River Crossings – Bridging the Thames’. It makes five recommendations:

• TfL, the Government and all impacted boroughs should consider formalising the Thames River Crossing Coordination Group overseeing the maintenance of river crossings in London.
• TfL, the Government and all impacted boroughs that wish to opt-in should consider having a collective fund for maintenance of the relevant river crossings in London, into which all the relevant asset owners would contribute.
• TfL and other asset owners in London should publish an annual report on the condition of river crossings in London, showing the need for maintenance, scheduled maintenance over the coming years and any capital projects that are planned.
• The Government should devolve London´s portion of VED, currently worth around £500 million per annum, to TfL and make national roads funding schemes available to London boroughs, on the same basis as other English Local Authorities. This would allow a portion of the funding to be spent on the future maintenance of London´s river crossings, as well as dealing with London´s £241 million bridge maintenance backlog.
• The speed and volume of road traffic should form a part of the reporting on the maintenance needs and costs for existing crossings. Options should be laid out for how maintenance can be made more affordable by means of controlling speed or volume of traffic, particularly for heavy vehicles.