Letter to Department for Transport

Urgent funding required for Broadmead Road Bridge

Sent to Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport on November 2023

Dear Secretary of State,

Broadmead Road Bridge, which forms a vital part of the transport network in the London Borough of Redbridge, is currently closed to all traffic as a result of critical defects discovered in July 2023.

Essential repairs to the bridge are expected to cost at least £25million, but potentially far more, and I am writing to seek urgent financial support from government in order to reopen this critical transport link.

Having lost around 63% of government funding since 2010, councils across the country are in an incredibly difficult financial position. In Redbridge our government funding has fallen by the equivalent of £230million. As a result, it is unfeasible for councils to fund projects of this magnitude and so it is vital funding be provided through the Department for Transport.

Broadmead Road (A1009) is an important East / West route in the London Borough of Redbridge and forms part of the borough’s principal road network joining the A1199 Woodford Green to the west and A113 Chigwell Road to the east.

The bridge has been closed since July 2023 because of safety concerns following a visual inspection which identified cracks, falling concrete and concrete corrosion on the legs, spans and underside of the bridge. The Council took immediate action to close the bridge to all vehicular traffic in view of the risk of falling concrete onto the live Central Line running underneath and concerns about the structural integrity of the bridge.

We are working closely with Transport for London to conduct further surveys, which so far have found the defects to be extensive. 

The bridge serves as a key transport link in our borough and its closure has caused significant disruption for thousands of local people, including families taking their children to three local schools.

It is essential government steps up to support us to resolve the bridge defects and reopen this vital route.

Without government help local people, visitors and our emergency services face extensive travel disruption that will severely impact the daily lives of our communities who rely on this important route.

I look forward to constructively working with your department to develop a funding package that will allow us to return the bridge to full operation as early as possible.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Jas Athwal

Leader, London Borough of Redbridge