Tower Bridge to close for three months for work

One of the City’s key links south of the River Thames is set to be closed for three months from October, as structural repairs and maintenance work is carried out on Tower Bridge.

The City of London Corporation confirmed the closure of the 122-year-old structure this week, which would affect 21,000 vehicles which use the crossing each day.

Automobile Association president Edmund King voiced his concerns over the lengthy closure, saying drivers who have suffered congestion during the construction of new cycle lanes in recent years will only suffer further.

“Just when traffic will have got back to normal following the disruption caused by the Cycle Superhighways construction, London drivers will be hit by another dead end,” he was quoted in the Telegraph as saying.

“Obviously this iconic bridge needs to be looked after, but the traffic problems associated with it just show how crucial bridge capacity is in London.

“The Seine in Paris has almost twice as many crossings as the Thames in London,” King added.

It’s understood the closure will allow workers to waterproof the archways of the bridge approaches, replace the timber decking for the first time since the 1970s, and resurface the road and walkways.

“This decision to close Tower Bridge to vehicles has not been taken lightly, and this course of action has been taken after extensive consultation and planning in conjunction with numerous stakeholders,” said City of London Corporation planning and transport committee chairman Chris Hayward.

Nearby Tooley Street, on the south bank of the river, is already closed in one direction until 2018 as Network Rail completes major upgrade work at London Bridge station, although Transport for London said the combined impact of the two closures would be ‘minimal’.

The effect on pedestrians will be minimal compared to that of road traffic, with access to those on foot being maintained through the work with the exception of three weekends, when a free cross-river ferry will be provided instead.