Hammersmith Bridge closed indefinitely after 'critical faults' discovered.
www.standard.co.uk/news/london/hammersmith-bridge-closed-indefinitely-after-critical-faults-discovered-a4114771.html
Pedestrians and cyclists will still be able to use the bridge,
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we have been here before, happens about every ten years or so. Lovely bridge, but never designed to carry that load day in day out
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" closed indefinitely after 'critical faults' discovered. "
How stoopid for 1800's Engineers not to have thought 200 years ahead. !!!
Deal with it
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There is a weight and width limit on this bridge but small buses were allowed to use it, albeit one at a time recently .Chaos will return after the schools go back after Easter.
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>> How stoopid for 1800's Engineers not to have thought 200 years ahead. !!!
>>
It always amazes me how strong some ancient bridges are. I regularly drive over a 15th century stone arched bridge designed for ox carts over which huge lorries now trundle.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Thu 11 Apr 19 at 09:23
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....I was discussing this with friends earlier this week - largely in the context of the many railway bridges almost two centuries old, and still performing their duty, but then lapsing back into canal bridges, early road bridges, etc.
All this in the context of the amount of replacement and major repair work carried out on more modern structures.
Of course, railway bridges (at least once railways became established) were always intended to carry significant weight, and the trains of today haven't seen the same factor of increase in weight that road vehicles have, but I think some of the reason lies in the truth that underlies the statement:
"anyone can build a bridge that doesn't fall down, it takes an engineer to build a bridge that just doesn't fall down."
Today's engineering structure are designed and built using experience and more importantly calculations that minimise the cost for the stated design purpose. In the past, such structures were generally massively overdesigned simply to ensure that they weren't on the margins, since the knowledge and calculation of those margins (particularly for the different materials in use then) weren't available.
It's resulted in having some very fine structures that have a long history, but are largely overlooked. We have an interesting civil engineering heritage.
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>>"anyone can build a bridge that doesn't fall down, it takes an engineer to build a bridge that just doesn't fall down."
I've used that many times in completely non civil engineering scenarios. One of those things you wish you'd said first. Or I do, anyway.
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>> It always amazes me how strong some ancient bridges are. I regularly drive over a
>> 15th century stone arched bridge designed for ox carts over which huge lorries now trundle.
One of the routes to and from my home takes me over a 230 year old canal bridge, essentially unchanged since construction.
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>> One of the routes to and from my home takes me over a 230 year
>> old canal bridge, essentially unchanged since construction.
Pretty much any way out from where I live involves crossing the Grand Union canal and/or the West Coast Main Line railway at least once on original bridges. We're at the point where both those arteries as well as the M1 and A5 come together to pass through the Watford Gap. Bridges are OK, it's the cretins who don't understand how to creep and peep for visibility that make them difficult.
We got a new bridge over both canal and railway when Banbury Lane level crossing was abolished (barriers would be permanently down with current frequency and line speed). One of the other rail bridges is suffering from structural movement and has been single alternate working with temp lights for last eighteen months. No sign of repairs. Apart from Northants Council being bankrupt work would likely require possession of the railway and certainly require the overhead wires to be off.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Thu 11 Apr 19 at 11:24
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Of course the span over your average canal is slightly less than the span over the Thames at Hammersmith, making canal bridges an easier engineering task. Hammersmith bridge is Grade II listed, which might complicate the repairs.
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>> is Grade II listed,
There's a prime example of the law of unintended consequences inflicted by the unthinking and the frequently self-righteous.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 11 Apr 19 at 11:51
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I don't see that at all, Hammersmith Bridge is of significant architectural merit to be prevented from destruction.
Its a pity that listing didn't get put on the Firestone building in time, where we lost an epic piece of architecture.
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>>I don't see that at all, Hammersmith Bridge is of significant architectural merit to be prevented from destruction.
Absolutely. A fine goal.
I'm guessing you have little experience of the realities of building listing and it's implications. I own two Grade II listed buildings, both of which required significant renovation to save them.
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Ha! I too own a Grade II listed building. A previous owner fitted UPVC double-glazed windows without consent. I suggested to our conservation officer that, in return for him giving consent for other works, I would replace the UPVC with sympathetic timber framed windows (but still double glazed). Absolutely not! was his response: any replacement windows would have to be single glazed. So the double glazed plastic windows remain!
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I have so many similar tales; a spectacular one involving a rusty corrugated lean-to which could only be replaced with more corrugated. On a 1610 Farmhouse FFS.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 11 Apr 19 at 12:53
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All these minor tales pall into insignificance when you have a listed structure as the gateway between the North & South Circular roads.
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As I said, clearly you've not experienced this stuff in the real world. It is frequently ridiculous, counter-productive and sometimes harmful to the thing it is supposed to protect.
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>> As I said, clearly you've not experienced this stuff in the real world. It is
>> frequently ridiculous, counter-productive and sometimes harmful to the thing it is supposed to protect.
>>
I assume rules like this are always based around the idra that if you give people an inch some will take a mile.
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>> I assume rules like this are always based around the idra that if you give
>> people an inch some will take a mile.
Absolutely. And a legal framework is certainly required. Unfortunately both the criteria for selecting structures and the level of restriction were ill thought out and executed in the first place.
With that strict adherence to unchanging rules has taken priority over what is best for the structure.
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>> As I said, clearly you've not experienced this stuff in the real world.
whatever
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>> All these minor tales pall into insignificance when you have a listed structure as the
>> gateway between the North & South Circular roads.
>>
Which is?
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>> Which is?
I always assumed Kew Bridge. Also a listed structure but in better shape than Hammersmith.
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>> >> Which is?
>>
>> I always assumed Kew Bridge. Also a listed structure but in better shape than
>> Hammersmith.
You are right I wasn't thinking left wing enough.
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...the sooner we deliver Brexit and can start rebuilding bridges the better.....
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...and drive over them in Leyland Montegos from our newly rejuvenated car manufacturing industry.
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>> ...and drive over them in Leyland Montegos from our newly rejuvenated car manufacturing industry.
>>
I think they were sold under the Austin brand, well we are on a car forum :-)
I remember my dad had one, awful reliability. It was big and cheap but the thing spent more time in a garage than on the road. It was awful, he never bought Austin/rover again.
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I had, and I'm not saying I'm proud of this, but I had an MG Maestro. White with red seatbelts and a funny woman in the dash who told you to put them on and shut the door etc.
It was, in mitigation, a distress purchase. Only had it a few months.
Went alright though, better than it looked anyway.
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...I think we've been here before.
I had a 2 litre MG Montego, and liked it a lot. It was a very pleasant drive, and no reliability issues (until, that is, I t-boned an 8-wheel coal lorry that pulled out of a side-road whilst I was doing 60 down the main. It wasn't over-good after that ;-) )
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>>the Firestone building
Allegedly Trafalgar House PLC were tipped off by a friend of the MD, who happened to be a senior member of the Government at the time.
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>> >>the Firestone building
>>
>> Allegedly Trafalgar House PLC were tipped off by a friend of the MD, who happened
>> to be a senior member of the Government at the time.
>
It was criminal vandalism on a massive scale.
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>> I don't see that at all, Hammersmith Bridge is of significant architectural merit to be
>> prevented from destruction.
>>
>> Its a pity that listing didn't get put on the Firestone building in time, where
>> we lost an epic piece of architecture.
>>
The Minimax Factory near Hatton Cross near Heathrow
Before
www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1893130
The first photo is the Firestone building and the second is the Minimax entrance
twitter.com/i/web/status/1076784180103647232
www.doganddeco.co.uk/tag/1920s/
See bottom photo of the Firestone site
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Got to give Tesco some credit for their respectful treatment of the Hoover Building, whilst maintaining it as a commercial enterprise.
A classic Art Deco factory building around the corner from where I live was also destroyed by arson a week before listed building status was given.
It is now a small housing estate with mock Tudor detached houses. The town was robbed!
Last edited by: zippy on Thu 11 Apr 19 at 17:29
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> The Minimax Factory near Hatton Cross near Heathrow
>> Before
>> www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1893130
>> The first photo is the Firestone building and the second is the Minimax entrance
>> twitter.com/i/web/status/1076784180103647232
>>
>> www.doganddeco.co.uk/tag/1920s/
>> See bottom photo of the Firestone site
>>
Thanks for those links, some lovely looking buildings in those links.
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>> Thanks for those links, some lovely looking buildings in those links.
>>
All are in my home area so I am with Zero in wanting to keeps these famous buildings.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Mile_(Brentford)
Google images art deco great west road brentford
Many say the most extensive art deco is in NZ. It is certainly very impressive.
Google art deco New Zealand.
On our visit we stayed in the Masonic Hotel in Napier -magic!!
We searched out a lot of the key buildings too.
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I think everybody wants to keep important buildings. It is a shame that sometimes the listing management process causes buildings to be lost.
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>> On our visit we stayed in the Masonic Hotel in Napier -magic!!
I wondered who's car it was.... ;-)
oi68.tinypic.com/k9dzz9.jpg
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>> >> Thanks for those links, some lovely looking buildings in those links.
>> >>
>> All are in my home area so I am with Zero in wanting to keeps
>> these famous buildings.
>> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Mile_(Brentford)
>> Google images art deco great west road brentford
Cheers not heard of that road before. Looks like plenty of interesting buildings.
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>>Cheers not heard of that road before.
It is the A4.
The old Roman road from Chiswick Roundabout follows the Thames through Brentford to Hounslow. At the western end of the High Street, one road goes off to Staines on Thames and the other road now labelled the Bath Road goes off to and along the edge of Heathrow.
The A4 runs parallel and when it joins the old road beyond Hounslow West to then becomes the Bath Road.
Some of us like to think it was the first Motorway.
Three lanes in each direction with a lane wide cycle track in each direction flanked by grass verges.
Circa 1925
brentfordandchiswicklhs.org.uk/local-history/industries-and-crafts/the-great-west-road-then-now/
This gives you an idea of how wide it was and still is.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Great_West_Road_at_Brentford_-_panoramio.jpg
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Hammersmith Bridge closed indefinitely - Zero
