Hammersmith flyover

Last updated

Hammersmith flyover
Hammersmith flyover 6523r.jpg
Coordinates 51°29′28″N0°13′39″W / 51.4911°N 0.2275°W / 51.4911; -0.2275
CarriesUK road A4.svg A4
Maintained by Transport for London [1]
Characteristics
Total length622 m (2,041 ft) [2]
Width18.6 m (61 ft) [3]
Longest span42.7 m (140 ft) [3]
No. of spans16 [3]
History
Architect Hubert Bennett [3]
Designer G. Maunsell & Partners
Constructed byJ&J Dean Builders (Oscar James Dean, Malcolm James Dean & Alan Dean)
Construction startJanuary 1960 [4]
Construction end16 November 1961 [5]
Construction cost£1,200,000 [3]
Opened16 November 1961 [5]
Statistics
Daily traffic 85,549 (2011) [6] [ needs update ]
Location
Hammersmith flyover

The Hammersmith flyover is an elevated roadway in West London which carries the A4 arterial road over and to one side of the central Hammersmith gyratory system, and it links together the Cromwell Road extension (Talgarth Road) with the start of the Great West Road. It is one of the first examples of an elevated road using reinforced concrete. [5] [7]

Contents

Design

An elevated road employing reinforced concrete balanced cantilever beam supports with a single central column. The deck spine and wings are of hollow prestressed concrete design, with each span being tensioned by longitudinal tendons (four clusters, each of sixteen 29 mm (1.1 in) steel cables). [8] The flyover was designed by G. Maunsell & Partners, Consulting Engineers, led by Peter Wroth [9] and is 622 metres (2,041 ft) long. [2] When built the flyover included heating cables to "eliminate ice formation". [10] The system was initially successful, [11] though a £4800 bill for the 1962–63 winter (equivalent to £100,000in 2023) "so shocked Hammersmith Borough Council that, as a protest, it cut off the electricity". London County Council paid the bill after this. [12]

The heating became defective at some point a "long time" before 2000. [13]

History

St Paul's, Hammersmith seen from under the flyover St Paul's Church, Hammersmith, from beneath the flyover - geograph.org.uk - 2059009.jpg
St Paul's, Hammersmith seen from under the flyover

Completed in 1961, it was one of the first examples of its design. J&J Dean, a London-based civil engineering contractor, built the flyover at a cost of £1.2 million. The then Conservative Transport Minister Ernest Marples had been a Marples, Ridgway shareholder. To avoid a conflict of interest Marples undertook to sell his controlling shareholder interest in the company as soon as he became Minister of Transport in October 1959, although there was a purchaser's requirement that he buy back the shares after he ceased to hold office, at the price paid, should the purchaser so require. [14]

Much of the churchyard of St Paul's Church, the oldest parish church of Hammersmith, had to be cleared for the project, including an old wall and many grave markers. [15]

Repair work

Sign showing temporary flyover closure Hammersmith flyover closed sign 2012-05-11 11.32.50.jpg
Sign showing temporary flyover closure
The flyover after repair work was completed in 2015, with new bolts and sections of tensile cable visible on the surface of the structure Hammersmith flyover with repair bolts visible.JPG
The flyover after repair work was completed in 2015, with new bolts and sections of tensile cable visible on the surface of the structure

In December 2011 Transport for London (TfL) issued a statement that "damage to the ageing 1960s structure has been caused by water ingress, including salt water due to grit laid during the winter months, which has corroded and weakened the cables which help support the flyover". [1] TfL stated there was "a very remote possibility that Hammersmith Flyover [would] collapse". [16] [17]

The Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle claim that they were contacted on 14 December 2011 by a whistleblower who revealed that problems with the structure were far more severe than was being made public. [18] [19] The flyover was closed to all traffic from 23 December 2011 [20] [21] to 12 January 2012 after structural defects were discovered. [7] From 13 January [7] to 27 May [22] the bridge was only open to a single lane of light traffic in each direction for repair work. TfL planned to strengthen six of the sixteen arches before the London 2012 Olympic Games and the remaining ten arches after the games. [23] New post-tensioned steel cables "are being installed in concrete blocks above and below the deck's central reservation". [24] The repairs are now complete and extended the life of the bridge by 15 years. [25] The cost of repairs was estimated to be around £10 million. [26]

In June 2013 it was announced further repairs were required, a project estimated to cost £60m. [27]

Transport for London announced that "The 18-month project will see the flyover strengthened, the bearings underneath the structure replaced, a new carriageway drainage system [fitted] and the entire flyover waterproofed and resurfaced." [28] The cost subsequently rose to £100 million. [29] TfL announced on 4 September 2015 that repair work to the flyover had been completed. [30]

Replacement tunnel

The construction sector has proposed that the flyover be replaced with a tunnel. A group of architects, including Assael Architecture and Simone de Gale, ran an event as part of London Festival of Architecture in 2012 to introduce the idea and gauge public interest. [31] Following a mixed but mostly positive response, the West London Link [32] was set up to explore the options in more detail. Three options were presented to the public in February 2014. [33] A template is the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel in Seattle. The then mayor of London, Boris Johnson, added publicity to the concept. [25] In February 2015 Johnson suggested a toll charge might be needed to cover the estimated £1.5 billion cost of building the tunnel. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Underground</span> Rapid transit system in England

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East London line</span> London Overground line

The East London line is part of the London Overground, running north to south through the East, Docklands and South areas of London. It was previously a line of the London Underground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baker Street tube station</span> London Underground station

Baker Street is a London Underground station at the junction of Baker Street and the Marylebone Road in the City of Westminster. It is one of the original stations of the Metropolitan Railway (MR), the world's first underground railway, opened on 10 January 1863.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crossrail</span> Railway project in London, England

Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, known as the Elizabeth line, that crosses the capital from suburbs on the west to east and connects two major railway lines terminating in London: the Great Western Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line. The project was approved in 2007, and construction began in 2009 on the central section and connections to existing lines that became part of the route, which has been named the Elizabeth line in honour of Queen Elizabeth II who opened the line on 17 May 2022 during her Platinum Jubilee. The central section of the line between Paddington and Abbey Wood opened on 24 May 2022, with 12 trains per hour running in each direction through the core section in Central London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackwall Tunnel</span> Pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in London

The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south of the East India Dock Road (A13) in Blackwall; the southern entrances are just south of The O2 on the Greenwich Peninsula. The road is managed by Transport for London (TfL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolwich Ferry</span> Ferry across the River Thames in east London

The Woolwich Ferry is a free vehicle and pedestrian ferry across the River Thames in East London, connecting Woolwich on the south bank with North Woolwich on the north. It is licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm of Transport for London (TfL). Around two million passengers use the ferry each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammersmith Bridge</span> Suspension bridge in London, England

Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, on the south side of the river. The current bridge, which is Grade II* listed and was designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, is the second permanent bridge on the site, and has been attacked three times by Irish republicans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gospel Oak to Barking line</span> London Overground line

The Gospel Oak to Barking line, frequently unofficially called the Goblin, is a railway line in London. It is 13 miles 58 chains (22.1 km) in length and carries both through goods trains and London Overground passenger trains, connecting Gospel Oak in north London and Barking Riverside in east London. The line is part of Network Rail Strategic Route 6, and is classified as a London and South East Commuter line. On 15 February 2024 Transport for London announced that the Overground service will be renamed the Suffragette line as part of a strategic rebrand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepherd's Bush tube station</span> London Underground station

Shepherd's Bush is a London Underground station in the district of Shepherd's Bush in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The station is on the Central line, between White City and Holland Park stations, and it lies in Travelcard Zone 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Kensington tube station</span> London Underground station

West Kensington is a London Underground District line station in West Kensington. It is located on North End Road (B317) close to its junction with West Cromwell Road/Talgarth Road (A4).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Marples</span> Former Conservative Minister of Transport

Alfred Ernest Marples, Baron Marples, was a British Conservative politician who served as Postmaster General (1957–1959) and Minister of Transport (1959–1964).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Underground S7 and S8 Stock</span> Rolling stock in use on the London Underground

The London Underground S7 and S8 Stock, commonly referred to as S Stock, is a type of passenger train running on the London Underground's subsurface lines since 2010. Manufactured by Bombardier Transportation's Derby Litchurch Lane Works, the S Stock was ordered to replace the A60, A62, C69, C77 and D78 stock on the Metropolitan, District, Hammersmith & City, and Circle lines, which all dated from the 1960s and 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvertown Tunnel</span> Tunnel under construction below the Thames between Sivertown and North Greenwich

The Silvertown Tunnel is a road tunnel under construction beneath the River Thames between the Greenwich Peninsula and west Silvertown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in London</span> Transport network serving London and surrounding regions

London has an extensive and developed transport network which includes both public and private services. Journeys made by public transport systems account for 37% of London's journeys while private services accounted for 36% of journeys, walking 24% and cycling 2%,according to numbers from 2017. London's public transport network serves as the central hub for the United Kingdom in rail, air and road transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West London Tram</span> Proposed light rail line in London, England

The West London Tram was a proposed on-street light rail line that was to run along the Uxbridge Road (A4020) corridor in West London, England. The scheme was promoted by Transport for London (TfL). It was postponed indefinitely on 2 August 2007, as it was opposed by the then councils of all three bisected London Boroughs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgware Road tube station (Bakerloo line)</span> London Underground station on the Bakerloo line

Edgware Road is a London Underground station on the Bakerloo line, located in the City of Westminster. It is between Paddington and Marylebone stations on the line and falls within Travelcard zone 1. The station is located on the north-east corner of the junction of Edgware Road, Harrow Road and Marylebone Road. It is adjacent to the Marylebone flyover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Oak Common railway station</span> Planned railway station in London

Old Oak Common (OOC) is a railway station under construction on the site of the Old Oak Common traction maintenance depot to the west of London in Old Oak Common, approximately 500 m (1,600 ft) south of Willesden Junction station. When built, it is expected to be one of the largest rail hubs in London, at about 800 m (2,600 ft) in length and 20 m (66 ft) below surface level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hogarth Roundabout</span>

The Hogarth Roundabout is a major roundabout situated in Chiswick in west London. It connects the A4 Great West Road and the A316 Great Chertsey Road, two of the nine main radial roads to or from the city. The final section of the A316 is Dorchester Grove to the north; the local road Church Street leads south to the conserved and affluent Old Chiswick riverside area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santander Cycles</span> Public bicycle hire scheme in London

Santander Cycles is a public bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly and colloquially known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began operating.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hammersmith flyover to remain closed next week" (Press release). TfL. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  2. 1 2 McCarthy, Michael (9 January 2012). "Race against clock to fix vital transport artery for Olympics". The Independent . London.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hammersmith Flyover". Engineering timelines. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  4. Basham, Rupert (2 February 2012). "Feature: The birth of the Hammersmith Flyover". Hammersmith & Fulham Chronicle. Retrieved 2 February 2012. The volume of vehicles was such an issue that during the flyover's 22-month construction period, traffic had doubled in the area, reaching a peak of 70,000 cars a day.
  5. 1 2 3 Rawlinson, S. R. J.; Stott, P. F. (1962). "The Hammersmith Flyover (Includes Plates.)". ICE Proceedings. 23 (4): 565. doi:10.1680/iicep.1962.10813.
  6. "Hammersmith and Fulham Traffic Counts: Count Point id 16110". Department for Transport. Retrieved 22 May 2013. AADF for All Motor Vehicles 2011 85,549.
  7. 1 2 3 "Hammersmith Flyover reopens to light traffic". BBC News. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  8. Engineering Timelines: Hammersmith Flyover
  9. Milligan, G. (December 1991). "Charles Peter Wroth 1929–91". Géotechnique. 41 (4): 631–635. Bibcode:1991Getq...41..631M. doi:10.1680/geot.1991.41.4.631. ISSN   0016-8505.
  10. Reed Business Information (13 December 1962). "BICC (advert)". New Scientist. 16 (317): 693. ISSN   0262-4079 . Retrieved 13 January 2012.[ dead link ]
  11. "The road heating of the Hammersmith flyover has been particularly successful during this prolonged cold spell". The Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer. 122.
  12. "Snow on the Roads". The Economist. Vol. 214, no. 1. p. 55. The bill, at £4800, for heating the Hammersmith flyover in the winter of 1962-63 so shocked Hammersmith Borough Council that, as a protest, it cut off the electricity. (The LCC now pays.)
  13. "Freedom of Information Request: Hammersmith Flyover Heating Correspondence". WhatDoTheyKnow.com. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  14. Personal Statement - The Minister of Transport (Mr. Ernest Marples), Hansard, House of Commons, 28 January 1960
  15. "St Paul's Churchyard and St Paul's Green". London Gardens Online. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  16. "TfL report warned of Hammersmith Flyover collapse risk". BBC. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  17. "Traffic modelling of A4 Hammersmith flyover closure (Hammersmith Flyover Emergency Preparedness Plan v00e.pdf)". WhatDoTheyKnow. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  18. "Fulham - Latest news updates, pictures, video, reaction - MyLondon". www.mylondon.news.
  19. "Hammersmith Flyover 'Is Unsafe'". Londonist. 15 December 2011.
  20. "Hammersmith flyover closed due to structural defect". BBC News website. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  21. "TfL statement on the Hammersmith flyover". Transport for London website. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  22. "Hammersmith Flyover fully opens after repairs". BBC News. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  23. "Hammersmith flyover to reopen for cars and light traffic as vital repair works continue" (Press release). TfL. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  24. Lynch, Declan (9 February 2012). "Hammersmith flyover cable replacement starts this week". New Civil Engineer . Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  25. 1 2 Dominiczak, Peter (26 January 2012). "Hammersmith flyover? The solution could be to dig a tunnel, says Boris". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  26. Lynch, Declan (23 February 2012). "Hammersmith flyover: returning to full strength". New Civil Engineer . Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  27. Prynn, Jonathan (13 June 2013). "Hammersmith flyover needs £60m repair job after £10m emergency work two years ago". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  28. "Hammersmith flyover strengthening and refurbishment". Transport for London. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  29. "Hammersmith Flyover strengthening: Stressful work". 23 February 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  30. "£100m refurbishment of Hammersmith Flyover completed". Transport for London. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  31. "FLYOVER MAKEOVER: Help plan the Hammersmith Flyunder! | London Festival of Architecture". Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  32. "West London Link : A Tunnel to replace Hammersmith Flyover".
  33. "Hammersmith flyunder - Hammersmith & Fulham". Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  34. Crerar, Pippa (9 February 2015). "Drivers will have to pay toll for tunnel that could replace". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

51°29′28″N00°13′39″W / 51.49111°N 0.22750°W / 51.49111; -0.22750