The final phase of the restrengthening of the Hammersmith Flyover has begun.

The bridge will be closed or partially closed for four weekends in July and August for the final major piece of work to be carried out.

It will bring an end to refurbishment work which started in September 2013.

During that time, 11 of the bridge’s 16 spans have been strengthened, after the initial five were repaired in 2012.

In June, the last of 34 bearings underneath the flyover were replaced, allowing it to adapt to weather conditions and expand in the summer and shrink in the winter by up to 180mm.

Last year, the entire flyover was resurfaced and waterproofed with a new concrete central reservation installed.

The work has seen a total of 6.5km of tensioning cables attached and threaded through the structure.

The flyover will have undergo partial closures between July 10-13, 17-20, 24-27 and August 7-10

It will allow work to replace the two five tonne expansion joints within the carriageway, which allows it to flex as traffic moves across it.

There will be full closures of the flyover between 10.30pm on the Saturday night and 10am on the Sunday morning for the first two weekends and 10.30pm and 5am for the final two weekends to help complete these works as quickly as possible.

During the closures, traffic will be diverted beneath the flyover or onto the A40 Western Avenue, with the diversion route clearly signed.

Dana Skelley, asset management director at Transport for London (TfL), said: “Our work to complete the vital refurbishment of the Hammersmith Flyover is progressing really well. These final weekend closures will allow us to replace the expansion joints within the structure, which will mean the flyover will be fit to carry traffic for many years to come.”

This restoration is part of TfL’s wider £4bn Road Modernisation Plan.

Closure dates

  • Friday July 10 - Monday July 13: Eastbound closure (22:30 Friday to 05:00 Monday) / Westbound closure (22:30 Saturday to 10:00 Sunday)
  • Friday July 17 - Monday July 20: Westbound closure (22:30 Friday to 05:00 Monday) / Eastbound closure (23:30 Saturday to 10:00 Sunday)
  • Friday July 24 – Monday July 27: Eastbound closure (22:30 Friday to 05:00 Sunday) / Westbound closure (22:30 Saturday to 05:00 Monday)
  • Friday August 7 – Monday 10 August: Eastbound closure (22:30 Friday to 05:00 Sunday) / Westbound closure (22:30 Saturday to 05:00 Monday)

Last month a debate was hosted by John Humphrys, looking at replacing the flyover and stretch of A4 with a flyunder.