The flyover constructed back in the '60s, gives rise to serious debate between the continuous repair works, derailing associated costs and its replacement by a tunnel as a long-term solution.
The Hammersmith flyover is a 622 long and 18.6m wide, prestressed concrete, elevated roadway in West London, which carries one of the major roads in England since it was first constructed back in 1961. When built, it was even equipped with heating cables to deal with ice formation on its decks, an innovative technology, which though became defective near the year 2000.
With a daily traffic load of over 85,000 vehicles, the flyover was diagnosed in Dec 2011 with serious structural deffects "caused by water ingress, including salt water due to grit laid during the winter months, which had corroded and weakened the cables which supported the flyover" according to a Transport for London (TfL) statement. Its closure for emergency repairs created a tremendous traffic jam in the area for about 6 months and has cost about £10 million. It included strengthening of the arches and installation of new post-tensioned steel cables at the deck.
A group of architects at the London Festival of Architecture in 2012 introduced the idea of replacing the flyover with a tunnel, and caught the attention of The West London Link, who further investigated the idea. A tunnel would eliminate traffic, while the undergrounding of the six lane highway, that now cuts north off from south, is going to free up a 2.5mile strip of land creating further development opportunities.
Concerns are expressed on behalf of local residents about the area turning into a ghost and losing connectivity with other areas, as well as that developers will make a fortune out of the extra space which will result after the flyover demolition. However, the June 2013 announcements that a new round of repair works is required, estimated to cost around £60m, is in favor of the long-term solution. A feasibility study, is already being executed upon the request of Mayor of London Boris Johnson and runs until March 2014.
Sources: West London Link, Wikipedia, London Evening Standard, getwestlondon
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