Railway bridge crack "not a concern" say council (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Railway bridge crack "not a concern" says Wandsworth Council

9:21am Friday 15th June 2012 in News

The council has reassured worried motorists that a large crack across a railway bridge which appeared last week is not a hazard.

The crack appeared on the railway bridge in Nightingale Lane close to Wandsworth Common train station.

Philip Agius, sales manager in Jackson's Estate Agents, which has an office in nearby Bellevue Road said: "The bridge looks like it's got major problems. A crack could see the whole bridge close.

"It could lead to that whole thing coming down and have a knock of effect."

But a council spokesman said: "Bridges like this are specifically designed to expand and contract when temperatures change and therefore cracks in the road surface can occur above expansion joints from time to time, but should not cause local residents any undue worry or concern.

"We are in contact with Network Rail – the owner of the bridge – about this and will arrange for repairs to the road surface as necessary."

A spokesman for Network Rail said that while railway bridges are their responsibility and roads the council's, it was unclear who was responsible in this case.

He said: "We inspect our bridges annually but we also have hundreds of staff keeping an eye things in a more ad-hoc basis.

"They are safety checked to ensure they are fit for purpose and if any work is required we carry it out as soon as required depending on its urgency.

"We will be in contact with Wandsworth Council to discuss how to proceed."