This document is published in its entirety alongside this report and sets out high-level and conceptual options to replace the A4 between Chiswick and Earl’s Court with a tunnel. It states that this tunnel can transform the city by: • Reuniting north and south; • Reuniting Hammersmith and Chiswick with the river; • Rejuvenating the centre of Hammersmith; • Replacing traffic arteries with boulevards and avenues; and • Creating development opportunities for workplaces and homes.
WLLD were inspired to explore these opportunities due to the emergency structural works that TfL were required to undertake in 2011 to make the ageing structure safe. The full, and unplanned, closure of Hammersmith Flyover caused significant traffic problems in Hammersmith town centre as the A4 traffic was diverted around Hammersmith Gyratory which struggles to cope with peak traffic at present. The flyover is currently undergoing a multimillion pound, 18-month refurbishment, running until 2015 to extend the life of the 50-year-old structure. These works are planned and as such
have less of an impact on the surrounding road network. It is inevitable, however, that further works will be required which could take many forms, including its full replacement over the next 50 years. WLLD recognise that now is the time to start thinking more ambitiously about its eventual replacement and that a major infrastructure project, like a tunnel, in a high-density town centre, will take years to plan, procure and build. The time we have is long enough to plan the best solution or short enough to be forced into a quick and dirty fix.
Feasibility study It is for these reasons that H&F Council decided to undertake a feasibility study into a flyunder, to respond to the RTF and TfL publications, and to build on the WLLD vision. It was always recognised that TfL, as strategic highway authority for London, is ultimately responsible for the management and future planning of the A4. The feasibility project was designed in such a way that it would be prepared on TfL’s behalf to fill the gap between the aspirational RTF recommendations and the realistic TfL research and development programme.
H ammersmit h F lyunder feasibilit y st udy
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