The flyover, used by 90,000 motorists a day, will be fully closed for the next two Sundays, and for four nights from today.
By Daniel Chipperfield, Helena Hickey, Nate Saunders & Emily Wilson
Motorists are bracing themselves for traffic chaos after Transport for London (TfL) announced further closures to the Hammersmith Flyover.
Ongoing structural concerns means the flyover, used by 90,000 motorists a day, will be fully closed for the next two Sundays, and for four nights from today.
Hammersmith taxi firms were badly hit in December when the flyover was shut for three weeks for original repairs, and were assured the problems had been fixed.
Ahraz Humayun, Operation Manager of Dial A Car, says his company will lose money and customers.
“From what we heard a couple of weeks ago we were told it would be up and running without problems, and now we hear it is going to be shut down again,” he said.
“When the flyover is closed, it is just chaos. Over Christmas it was completely gridlocked.
“It all has a knock-back effect. Customers get a reduced fare because it takes us so long to get to them, and this combined with the already high petrol costs culminates in us and our drivers losing money.
“If someone calls up and says they want a cab in ten minutes to the hospital, and we can’t get to them, we’ve just lost a customer.
“Whether they realise it’s because of traffic or not is another issue.”
Structural engineering company Amey are working around the clock to fix the damage caused by water and salt grit leaking into the structure.
TfL hope the problems will be solved in time for the Olympics but admit further closures may be required during May.
However, structural expert Andrew Foster warned in January that if problems were not properly addressed there would be future closures.
Writing for Londonist.com, Mr Foster said: “The problems it is facing will get worse if an adequate solution is not found.
“If the problem spreads then there is a chance that the bridge will need to be replaced.”
TfL’s chief operating officer for surface transport, Garrett Emmerson, said: “I would once again like to apologise for any inconvenience that this work is causing and reassure Londoners that we are continuing to work around the clock to complete these vital works as quickly as possible.”
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