Zac Goldsmith announced he has received support from the Secretary of State for Transport to build a temporary bridge alongside Hammersmith Bridge to help to ease traffic.

The support comes after he lobbied the Government and Transport for London (TfL) for a bridge to coexist with the current structure of Hammersmith Bridge, which resulted in engineers from Richmond offering up two design proposals.

Mr Goldsmith said: “I am delighted that the Department for Transport will give serious consideration to these proposals.

"Hammersmith & Fulham Council and TfL have been dragging their feet, and I believe that the government ultimately needs to step in to get things moving.

“Completing the restoration of the Bridge as soon as possible is a priority, but residents cannot endure three years of traffic chaos as a result.

"A temporary bridge solution would ease congestion and could be assembled within a matter of months, and it would cost a fraction of estimates put forward for other solutions.”

A consultation was recently held to measure the amount of support for a temporary bridge.

At least 6,500 residents have taken participated and the consultation revealed that at least 98 per cent of respondents said they were affected by the bridge closure.

And, around 92.76 per cent of respondents said they were in favour of a temporary replacement bridge to be built alongside the existing structure.

Almost 79 per cent of respondents feel that TfL should take over the control and maintenance of Hammersmith Bridge.