London’s bridges are falling down

IN THE SPRING of 2019 micro-fractures were found in the cast-iron pedestals of Hammersmith Bridge in west London—one of more than 40 Thames river crossings in the capital. It has been closed to cars and buses ever since. That has knock-on effects on the neighbouring Chiswick and Putney bridges, as the 20,000-odd vehicles that used to cross Hammersmith Bridge each day seek other routes.

Cockneys have long joked that north and south London are separate cities, and increasingly they are. Last year Vauxhall and London bridges were closed to car traffic in order to allow repairs. Tower Bridge has closed twice in the past year because its drawbridge was jammed open. Battersea, Kew, Lambeth and Twickenham bridges are expected to need expensive repairs within a decade.