Cycling and walking charity Sustrans is carrying out a feasibility study to investigate the potential for a new bridge between Canary Wharf and Rotherhithe in east London.
The £200,000 study is being funded by £170,000 from Transport for London (TfL), with the remaining £30,000 raised from businesses in the area.
Isabel Dedring, deputy mayor for transport, said: “More than a third of London’s expected population growth is expected to happen in east London and we urgently need more crossings – for all types of transport users. So we are delighted to be able to offer this funding to help progress Sustrans’ proposed bridge.”
"We are delighted to receive this funding from TfL and other partners to be able to move forward with the feasibility work on this crossing. It could enable millions of sustainable cross-river journeys and make it easier for people to choose a healthier travel option."
Malcolm Shepherd, Sustrans
The fully accessible bridge for walkers and cyclists is named in the National Infrastructure Plan 2014 as part of considerations to support long-term growth in London, where it is suggested that the crossing could be called the “Brunel Bridge”.
Both Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s first project, the Thames Tunnel, and the Brunel Museum are located in Rotherhithe.
Although several precise locations are being considered for the bridge, Sustrans’ preferred option is for a crossing springing from alongside CZWG’s Cascades tower, on the Isle of Dogs, to Durand’s Wharf in Rotherhithe.
According to the charity the proposed bridge would relieve pressure on the London Underground Jubilee line and London Overground services, with journey times for thousands travelling by bicycle across the river halved.
Detailed feasibility work is scheduled to be completed by the end of August and the bridge could potentially be completed by 2020.
Malcolm Shepherd, chief executive of Sustrans, said: “Sustrans is delighted to have received this funding from TfL and other partners to be able to move forward with the feasibility work on this crossing. It could enable millions of sustainable cross-river journeys and make it far easier for people to choose a healthier travel option.
“With high-quality links to destinations either side, it will make walking and cycling a real choice for hundreds of thousands of residents, workers and visitors.”
The proposal for this latest crossing of the Thames comes after the shortlisted teams to design a £40m bridge in Nine Elms, south-west London, revealed their final designs.
One of the final designs for the Nine Elms crossing from Marks Barfield Architects with Buro Happold, J&L Gibbons Landscape Architects, and Gardiner & Theobald
