THE A4 Hammersmith Flyover is to remain partially open for the next four months as vital strengthening work is carried out.

Until yesterday morning, the busy stretch had been shut since December 23 when engineers found 'serious structural defects' in the 50-year-old structure.

Saltwater from grit laid during winter months has corroded the internal cables that hold it into place and work has been carried out 24/7 since its closure to find a solution.

This latest development was announced this afternoon at a public meeting held to discuss the closure.

David McNeill, director of public affairs and stakeholder engagement for TfL, told residents that work on strengthening the cables would take four months but that it was safe to re-open one lane in each direction for light traffic.

He said: "This is a big job, there are 30-miles of cables in the structure and we anticipate the bridge will be closed for another four months. Traffic will be restricted on the flyover for that period.

"I would love to be able to tell you it could open in late February or early March but we don't want to raise false hopes. There will be some night time closures in this time, but that will be late at night from 11pm onwards.

"There will be some delays, congestion and traffic but we will be rephasing lights to favour traffic in the area. We are still encouraging drivers to avoid the area. We are absolutely committed to spending what we need to spend and working as hard as we need to work to get this fixed as fast as possible."

During the meeting, Mr McNeill admitted that TfL became aware of the flyover's fragile state last summer and had been monitoring the cables, which are encased in concrete, by using various methods such as ultrasound so not to disrupt them.

However the engineers didn't realise the true extent of the damage until they broke the concrete away, which is when they called for the emergency closure just days before Christmas.

Mr McNeill said that the strengthening work would extend the flyover's life by up to 20 years.

Deputy leader of Hammersmith and Fulham council, Nick Botterill, suggested that this was the time to start thinking about what could replace the outdated structure.

Mr Botterill, said: "The world has moved on and it would be unthinkable to put an elevated monster, as I've heard it be called, of this kind up now. There could be environmental, economic and social benefits to a tunnelised version, it's done commonly in European cities to great success. We have a window of opportunity to think about what Hammersmith wants next."