Refurbishment of the iconic Hungerford Bridge begins

This iconic structure, which carries a railway line over the Thames between the South Bank and London Charing Cross station, is undergoing restoration to ensure its longevity, this is scheduled for completion by the end of winter 2028.

The current bridge comprises spans made of wrought iron lattice girders dating from 1864. With such old infrastructure, it’s important that the bridge is maintained so that the railway can be run safely and reliably for passengers.

During the work, on behalf of Network Rail, VolkerFitzpatrick’s engineers will prepare and paint the bridge, test the truss pins - which join together the supports – and replace the pin end caps on the girders. All of the original metalwork will be retained and refurbished.

To avoid disruption, the bridge will not close to trains during this first phase and some work will be carried during the night. VolkerFitzpatrick will also use barges to deliver and remove waste materials for the period of the works to avoid creating extra traffic and the resulting pollution. This will avoid the equivalent of six truck freight deliveries through central London a week.

The refurbishment work will be carried out in two phases, with the first phase commencing on the spans on the Southbank and the south side of the river from January 2025 to January 2026. The second phase of the works will be the main refurbishment works which will take place on the remaining spans across the river from January 2026 to winter 2028.

VolkerFitzpatrick is the Building and Civils partner for the Southern Renewals Enterprise (SRE), working in partnership with AtkinsRéalis, Octavius, VolkerRail and Network Rail, to deliver the southern region’s £9bn renewals portfolio between 2024 and 2034.