Hammersmith Bridge lights up red to get government’s attention on Valentine’s Day

‘Broken Hearts. Broken Promises. Broken Lives. Broken Bridge’

Hammersmith Bridge illuminated (PA)

Hammersmith Bridge has been illuminated scarlet in a Valentine’s Day message aimed at highlighting ongoing delays to its repair.

The 133-year-old West London bridge has been closed to traffic since April 2019 when cracks appeared in its pedestals.

The bridge then closed to pedestrian, cyclist and river traffic in August 2020 after a heatwave caused the faults to "significantly increase".

Frustrated residents have now projected the "UK’s biggest Valentine’s Day card” onto the bridge to mark the six-month anniversary of its full closure.

Billed as the "UK’s biggest Valentine’s Day card", the message reads: "Broken Hearts. Broken Promises. Broken Lives. Broken Bridge."

Organisers said it was addressed to a number of politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, London mayor Sadiq Khan, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, and Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader Stephen Cowan.

A government task force was launched in September last year with the aim of "opening the bridge as speedily as possible", Mr Shapps said.

He argued that at the time there had been a "lack of leadership in London on reopening this vital bridge".

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor shares Londoners’ frustrations. We all want Hammersmith Bridge to reopen as soon as possible, but public safety must remain the top priority.

“The Government needs to stop dragging its heels and adding red tape – Ministers should be working constructively with City Hall and the local council, and urgently providing the vital funding needed to repair the Bridge.”

Helen Pennant-Rea, chairwoman of the Hammersmith Bridge SOS Residents’ Group, said the "Valentine’s Day card" was intended to be a "fun and entertaining way to draw attention to what remains a serious issue".

She said: "It is a great shame that we need to raise further attention to the complete inability of politicians from all parties to find a satisfactory solution, to proceed with the funding and works to repair Hammersmith Bridge.

"Also, to deliver the urgently needed temporary pedestrian crossing."

Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which owns the bridge, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister in August stating the estimated cost to make it safe and "avoid a potential catastrophic failure" is £46 million.