Forum Topic

Hammersmith Bridge - Latest Design Entry

Well, here's another entry into the multitude of engineering designs floated to reopen or replace the bridge crossing. Image 1: https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/02/15/9/08/BLR_130225_HammersmithBridge.jpg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000Image 2: https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/BLR_130225_HammersmithBridge3-800x411.jpgWhat's the view from Putney's esteemed engineers...

T Jones ● 415d11 Comments

No Barbara you're not mistaken. It was just an idle thought after watching the crawl of traffic on the Lower Richmond Road at busy times and especially weekends. I get exasperated at the long term closure and lack of action on the repair or replacement of Hammersmith Bridge. I'd like to go to Riverside and the Gate but the walk is so difficult and at night time out of the question. No one I know wants the Mortlake Brewery development to go ahead as planned because it's too dense and will add to traffic problems. Last I heard though the film studios there were doing well!

Katrina Black ● 395d

Katrina, think you will find that is right by Chiswick Bridge anyway, so not much point another bridge there. Then you have Kew Bridge. Hammersmith where it is situated, was a direct route to Olympia, Kensington and Oxford Street, or Shepherds Bush. I might have mistaken what you are suggesting.

Barbara Stevens ● 397d

re: Hammersmith Bridge, I sometimes wonder if the Mortlake Brewery site couldn't be the Southern start of a new bridge. On the opposite side is green space - golf club and Duke's meadows or so I understand from an old A to Z. Mortlake Brewery re-developement is a highly contentious issue. Might this reduce the size of the development and provide an answer? The green space could possibly be switched to the Mortlake side. Just a thought!

Katrina Black ● 397d

This looks like a nice pedestrian bridge and only £16m. https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/council-services/planning-and-developments/cycling-and-pedestrian-improvements/kepax-walking-and-cycling-bridge "Kepax Bridge, which spans the Severn near Worcester, was completed on Dec 5 last year.."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/06/council-spends-16m-on-bridge-to-nowhere-in-worcester/

Ed Robinson ● 397d

Lovely CGI image but this looks like a PR exercise for a design company rather than a serious suggestion for opening the bridge. I thought there remained a possible issue with the pilings under the bridge which might limit the weight it could bear a problem that would be exacerbated by having these curved structures further away from the weight bearing point.

Barry Elms ● 412d

Nice image and and alright design. The Devil is in the details though, and I am not sure how successfully pedestrians and cyclists would access the existing bridge, both ends would be congested with traffic.I'd leave out the extensive plants and greenery on the bridge; gives me flashbacks of Heatherwick's poncey Garden Bridge.

Gerry Boyce ● 415d

My post should have read "an interesting design" !!! I didn't check what the spellchecker had done to what must have been a typo :-(

Michael Ixer ● 415d

Thanks, Michael. Actually I like the design.

Martine Guy ● 415d

That is uninteresting design, I'd not seen it before. There are two links there, hope this helps, Martine:https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/02/15/9/08/BLR_130225_HammersmithBridge.jpghttps://static.standard.co.uk/2025/02/15/9/08/BLR_130225_HammersmithBridge.jpg

Michael Ixer ● 415d

Sorry, but I can’t get the link to the design to work. I really like Hammersmith Bridge, but wouldn’t object to it being replaced with a modern design.  I wouldn’t like to see the old bridge destroyed, as I think preserving heritage is important, so think it should moved elsewhere.  It doesn’t have to be used as a bridge across water, it could just be a decorative historic item in a different location.

Martine Guy ● 415d

I am no engineer.But I like the design and find it very imaginative.Sadly, I believe that proposal has been rejected.

Ivonne Holliday ● 415d