A broken road bridge in north-east London that has been shut to motor vehicles for nearly a year will remain closed for "a significant amount of time" due to a lack of funds to repair it. The cost to fix Broadmead Road Bridge in Woodford, which carries four lanes of traffic over the Central line, is estimated at "over £25million and potentially significantly more."
Redbridge Council, which owns the bridge, closed it in July 2023 after a visual inspection identified cracks, falling concrete and corrosion. The Labour-run authority says it cannot afford the repairs because of government funding cuts, having lost about 63 percent of central funding since 2010. It argues that funding from the Department for Transport is vital.
Local Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith criticised the council, calling its stance "absolute nonsense." He said the council has always been responsible for the bridge and should stop blaming the government. He urged the council to speak to Transport for London (TfL) about extra funds, but TfL maintains the bridge is the council's responsibility.
Council leader Jas Athwal said 75 percent of the council's £800million annual budget goes on adult social care and children's services, and cutting those would not be a choice. He added that "real human beings that we must look after" take priority over the bridge repair.
A letter from TfL in 2014 warned the council about the bridge's condition, stating that failure to act could lead to injury or service loss. The council carried out inspections and repairs then, but says the 1937 structure has reached the end of its life. Engineers are now completing a principal inspection report and will conduct concrete testing to assess the bridge's strength and options for reopening.
