The Council is the highway authority and the 'bridge authority' for the bridges it owns in the borough. Lewisham Council is responsible for 38 road bridges, 19 footbridges and three cycle route bridges.
The maximum permitted weight of lorries was increased in January 1999 to 40 tonnes. All bridges have had to be assessed to see if they could cope with this increase safely and, if not, to be signed at an appropriately restricted weight. The bridge assessment is now complete.
The Council is not responsible for all of the bridges in the borough. A number of them are owned and maintained by Network Rail and Transport for London.
As a rule the bridge usually belongs to the organisation (or its successor) that had cause to need the bridge in the first place. Ownership of bridges has been transferred in some cases, such as when the responsibility for a route changes. Broadly speaking, Network Rail owns all of the rail over road bridges. Transport for London also own some bridges and have an interest in all bridges on their road network (i.e. the A2, A20, AA205 and A21).
The Council's bridges are inspected every two years and a programme of maintenance work is drawn up. Incidents of damage through vehicle collision, storm damage, or other causes are investigated as soon as possible. In the case of damage to bridges by vehicles, reporting of the vehicle details may mean it is possible for the Council to claim the cost of the repairs to the bridge or culvert.
Funding for road bridge assessment and strengthening is bid for each year via Transport for London to the London Bridges Engineering Group (LoBEG). Pending strengthening, public safety is maintained on those bridges assessed as weak by using temporary weight restrictions or other measures and restrictions.
Many of the bridges in the borough are between 50 and 100 years old and require a high level of maintenance. Work carried out under the strengthening programme gives priority to principal road bridges. For substandard bridges on the non-principal road network, decisions have been made to permanently weight restrict rather than strengthen. Each bridge is considered on its merits, taking into account safety, economic and environmental factors.
FAQs
How can I report damage to a bridge?
Please report any damage to bridges either by phone to CallPoint on 020 8314 7171 or by using the online Street Fault report form.
How do I know who is responsible for the maintenance of the bridge?
For information on who is responsible for the maintenance of bridges please contact us.
How can I find out the height/weight limit in a bridge in the borough?
Weight and height restricted bridges have signs close to them indicating the restrictions. If you are travelling from outside the borough and would like information on the height and weight limits for bridges in Lewisham please contact us.