Are London’s bridges falling down?

Structural Repairs met BBC News reporter Luke Hanrahan this week and he posed the question… Are London’s Bridges falling down?

Luke got in touch to ask us to lend our expertise on all things concrete repair as we joined him to take a closer look at the current state of the Brent Cross Flyover.

How bad is it?

Since its construction in 1965, the news has consistently covered this structure, particularly after authorities implemented weight restrictions late last year due to its condition deteriorating beyond initial expectations.

Indeed, in an exclusive with New Civil Engineer back in October 2022, it was revealed that Transport For London has earmarked £215.2M.

This would fund future design and construction of existing road bridges between 2023 and 2028.

The Structural Repairs team joined the camera crew on the bridge where we deployed our concrete scanning equipment.

This amazing kit gives a more accurate view of the state of the bridge.  It assesses any defects, effectively determining the “life expectancy” of the bridge.

The results were worrying, to say the least.

What were the results?

We discovered a lot of exposed reinforcement that should have been exposed years ago.

As we headed underneath the bridge, we discovered very low levels of concrete cover which will lead to further exposure of the reinforcements.

Along with the exposed steel, we even found bits of concrete flaking off as we filmed.

TFL emphasized their serious commitment to safety and expressed hope to submit a business case later this year to secure funding for the project.

Remember that concrete does not last forever and that delamination constitutes a major issue.

So are London’s bridges falling down?

Ultimately, there’s no concrete answer, just more questions.

Do let us know us if we can help you with some of them.

Contact Structural Repairs for any concrete scanning or concrete delamination repair works.