Hammersmith Flyover To Reopen?

The courier services team at Anyvan is dismayed that the Hammersmith Flyover remains closed, but is thankful that latest reports suggest that it will be open to some traffic shortly and fully open by the time of the Olympics.

Built in the 1960s, engineers have discovered that salt water has over the years seeped into the structure and damaged cables within the concrete. The courier services team, along with delivery companies and private motorists, was horrified that such an important London traffic route (nearly 100,000 vehicles use the bridge on a daily basis) could be put out of action so easily. It was closed just before the Christmas break.

But the media is now saying that some traffic will be allowed back on the flyover within days. What’s more, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said the construction will be back fully in use by the time of the Olympics.

Its closure has proved a nightmare for road users and courier companies have found difficulty in delivering goods to the part of London.

Cynics have suggested that without the prospect of the Olympics on the horizon, the flyover could have worse been shut for years, at best allowing a fraction of the traffic to use it.

The engineering team inspecting the flyover say it was originally designed to have underfloor heating and not be gritted. That never worked they say and over the decades, grit and salt has been washed away and permeated the structure’s concrete and eroded large sections of the metal strengtheners.