Next year’s Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge will take place outside London for the first time since World War Two – because a bridge that passes over the usual course is close to collapsing.
The annual event between rowing crews of England’s top two universities usually attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators to the west London stretch of the River Thames, with many standing on Hammersmith Bridge to watch the boats pass underneath.
But the suspension bridge, built in 1887, has been closed to motor traffic since April 2019 following the discovery of hairline micro-fractures in the brittle cast iron pedestals.
In August, it was closed to pedestrians and cyclists, and river traffic beneath it was banned, due to a sudden increase in the size of the fractures.
This poses the risk that the bridge could suddenly collapse, according to Hammersmith and Fulham Council, the local authority that owns it.
(However, hopes were raised today that traffic could start using Hammersmith bridge again in little more than a year by new plans for a temporary “double decker” crossing over the existing structure.
The solution to the problem that has brought transport chaos to much of south-west London and forced thousands of children to take arduous detours to their schools was revealed today by the bridge’s owner, Hammersmith & Fulham council.
The proposal, drawn up by the London practice of Lord Foster and specialist bridge engineers COWI, would see the creation of two raised decks built above the roadway of the crippled 133-year-old structure. The upper level would be used by cars and buses while pedestrians and cyclists would cross on a lower level.
Existing road approaches could be still be used, and repair and strengthening work could carry on while the bridge was in use. The truss structure is designed to add no load to the current bridge deck, which would be removed in stages for repair, along with other damaged elements of the Grade II*-listed crossing including pedestals and chains.
The plan was drawn up at the request of property tycoon Sir John Ritblat, the former boss of one of London’s biggest developers British Land, who was approached for help by the council’s leader Stephen Cowan after the bridge was closed to pedestrians in August.)
In light of that, and also because COVID-related social distancing measures may still be in place by then, Boat Race organisers said next April’s event would take place on the River Great Ouse in Ely, in the county of Cambridgeshire.
The men’s race has previously been run once at Ely, in 1944, when it could not take place in London because of the war.
“While we are sad not to be able to welcome the usual hundreds of thousands of spectators along the course, we will be inviting our communities and wider audience to get involved via our social media channels, and …the BBC,” said George Gilbert, chair of the Race and Operations Committee at the Boat Race Company Limited.
The first Boat Race took place in 1829, making it one of the world’s oldest sporting events. The 2020 men’s and women’s races, which had been due to take place on March 29, were cancelled due to COVID. (Reuters)
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