Finally, Blackhorse Lane bridge will open in full a week tomorrow, Tuesday February 25.
The closure to Blackhorse Lane bridge since 2016 has seen local firms go out of business
Transport for London made the announcement just before the weekend. The 120-year-old bridge has been closed to traffic since 2016 as it was deemed to be unsafe for heavier vehicles. The closure has caused severe disruption to traffic, with some small businesses in the area claiming that a loss of trade had forced them to close.
Engineering work to strengthen the bridge began in 2018, though only after an intervention to the Mayor of London by local MP Sarah Jones.
This single span bridge crosses two tram lines between Blackhorse Lane and Addiscombe tram stops.
Addiscombe Railway Park bridge has been replaced at the same time in a joint project with Croydon Council. That new bridge is six feet wider to accommodate a cycle path. Both bridges have been open to single lane traffic and pedestrians since December.
But – ahhh, you knew there would be a “but” – TfL says, “To facilitate the full re-opening, Blackhorse Lane will close to all traffic from 08am Monday February 24 to 10am Tuesday February 25.”
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And the Chinese reckon that they can build HS2 in just one year longer!
Hallelujah! In Japan, a giant sink hole across a five-lane motorway was repaired in five days. In Croydon, it takes four years to rebuild a bridge.
I’m sure it could have been completed a lot quicker, I visited the site often and found a handful of people working on the bridge, typical of construction in the UK, just look at the shambles of Crossrail.
I visited the site about a month ago and it looked like the construction was finished, they’re probably arranging for some official to come down and cut a ribbon