New Government Fund Could Pay for Hammersmith Bridge
Minister declines to rule out money for reopening from billion-pound pot
Heidi Alexander (left) and Hammersmith Bridge (right)
June 17, 2025
Hopes that money has finally been found for a full reopening of Hammersmith Bridge have revived after a transport minister suggested it might benefit from a new government fund.
There was disappointment among those campaigning for the restoration of traffic flow on the bridge after the recent government Spending Review failed to mention it. Nearly all of the projects budgeted for were outside of London.
However, the announcement of a new billion pound Structures Fund has raised the possibility of the necessary investment being made available. When questioned during a radio interview this Wednesday, Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, who used to be Deputy Mayor of London, said that the project potentially could be eligible for support from the fund although she was unable to confirm this would be the case.
Her department managed to secure the allocation of the money from the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves this week, and Hammersmith Bridge matches the profile of projects that the government is looking to move forward with. London is currently ineligible for certain road funding streams, like the Large Local Majors fund, making the structures fund more crucial .
Ms Alexander told LBC Radio, “There are some structures that because of their age, their nature, are simply too expensive for the individual local authority to bear the entire burden of repairing them.
“We need to work through the details of how that Structures Fund is going to operate.
“It may be the case that Hammersmith Bridge and repair work there could be funded through that Structures Fund.
“But we are also going to have to look at the criteria of that fund, whether there needs to be local contribution from the asset owner, whether there is a clear and costed plan for work and whether there is a clear delivery path.”
The fund is dedicated to the repair of bridges, tunnels and flyovers across the country of which it is estimated there are 30,000 that need investment. The core aim of the fund is to strengthen aging transport assets to handle modern loads, which is precisely what Hammersmith Bridge requires.
With Hammersmith & Fulham Council already having developed a business case for the reopening with support for Transport for London, the project may already be towards the front of the queue, however, the total project cost may mitigate against it. Previously estimated to be £250million and likely to end up costing more due to construction industry cost rises, even if the total bill is not met by the fund, it will eat up a significant proportion of the money available. The final business case has already been submitted this April and is still under review by the Department for Transport.
Even if the ministry were to approve the business case, it is thought unlikely that the bridge could fully reopen before 2035.
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