Chiswick roads: Hammersmith Bridge is staying shut to cars

Driving in Chiswick means dealing with three separate highway authorities on a journey of two miles, and the first thing to understand is which one owns the tarmac you are stuck on. Hounslow Council is responsible for the residential streets, but not the A4 outside your window, and not the motorway above it. That split is why “who do I report this to” is genuinely confusing here, and it is why the biggest single change to driving in this part of London was not made by your council at all.

Hammersmith Bridge is not coming back for cars

The bridge has been closed to motor traffic since April 2019. Pedestrians and cyclists got it back in April 2025 once the cracked pedestals had been stabilised. The open question since then has been whether cars and buses would ever return, and in July 2026 that question was answered.

Hammersmith and Fulham’s cabinet met on 6 July 2026 and formalised the decision not to reopen the bridge to motor traffic, on the strength of its own Report to Cabinet on the Hammersmith Bridge Restoration Programme published the same day. The report concluded there is “no financial option available” to make the 139-year-old Grade II listed structure strong enough for modern vehicles. Doing it properly would mean building an entirely new bridge inside the heritage casing, at a projected £300 million* (New Civil Engineer, 8 July 2026).

The funding is what killed it. Government had required the Department for Transport, Transport for London and the borough to cover a third each, and Hammersmith and Fulham had planned to borrow its £100 million share and repay it through a toll on drivers using the bridge. With no vehicle restoration, there is no toll to levy and no way to service the borrowing. Bidding into the government’s £1 billion Structures Fund was ruled out because that fund requires works to be finished by 31 March 2030, which is not a realistic timetable for this job. The council has switched instead to a £128 million phased repair plan that preserves the bridge for pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.

What that means from Chiswick: the short hop across to Barnes and Castelnau is a walking and cycling route for the foreseeable future. Every car journey to that side of the river now uses Chiswick Bridge, Kew Bridge or Putney Bridge, and it is worth planning around rather than discovering at the approach.

Your Thames crossings, and what each one carries

The roadworks running through 2026: the M4 viaduct

The job most likely to hold you up this year is not a council one. National Highways is refurbishing the reinforced concrete pillars that hold up the M4 elevated section where it runs directly above the A4 Great West Road, between M4 junctions 1 and 2, from the Chiswick Roundabout end out past Boston Manor Road and Ealing Road.

The work started on Monday 9 March 2026, is scheduled to run for 35 weeks and is expected to finish on Saturday 7 November 2026. Twelve pillars are being repaired, and National Highways reported in July that it was more than halfway through. Crews work 07:00 to 19:00 daily.

What that means on the ground:

• Lane 3 westbound on the A4 near Capital Interchange Way is closed round the clock until November.
• Overnight closures run 22:00 to 05:00 in stages, moving along the road as the work moves between pillars.
• Signed diversions send westbound traffic via the A205 Chiswick High Road, the A315 High Street and the B455 Ealing Road, and eastbound traffic back the other way along the same route, which is why Chiswick High Road gets busy at odd hours during this scheme.

Dates for individual overnight closures are published and revised on National Highways’ scheme page, which is the one to check the week you need to drive it.

Who to report what to

This is the practical half of the page, because most road problems in Chiswick are small ones that go unfixed for months while people report them to the wrong body.

• Potholes, broken street lights, blocked gullies, fly-tipping and street cleansing on borough roads: Hounslow Highways, the council’s contractor. Its published service standards are worth quoting back at it: potholes inspected within two working days and repaired between one hour for an emergency and 28 days, stretching to 56 days if traffic management is needed; illegally dumped waste removed within 24 hours; offensive graffiti removed within 24 hours and other graffiti within seven days.
• Anything on the A4, A205, A316 or A406: those are Transport for London’s red routes, not the council’s. TfL publishes a live traffic status page for them.
• The M4: National Highways. The motorway begins at the Chiswick Roundabout and runs west on the elevated section above the A4 over Brentford’s Golden Mile, so a good deal of what you can see from Chiswick is not London’s road at all.

Where to check what is shut right now

Hounslow does not publish a plain list of current closures, which is the single most common complaint about its roads pages. What it does publish is better than a list once you know where it is:

• The council’s traffic notices map shows every traffic management order and temporary restriction in the borough on a map, which is the closest thing to a live picture of what is changing on the street.
• The council’s traffic notices page lists the same orders as documents, by month and reference number, and is where consultations appear before they take effect.
• TfL’s traffic status page covers the A4, the A316, the A205 and the A406.

Parking: Chiswick’s zones are being redrawn

Most of Chiswick sits inside a controlled parking zone, and in 2026 the council has been consolidating and amending several of them at once. The traffic notices published in July 2026 include a consolidation order for the Mid Chiswick CPZ (reference TMO-P029-26) and a notice of intent to amend the Central Chiswick CPZ (TMO-P034-26), on top of consolidation orders made in March 2026 covering Central Chiswick, East Chiswick, West Chiswick, Chiswick Riverside and Chiswick Mall.

Consolidation usually means the restrictions are being restated rather than changed, but the amendments are the ones to read, because a notice of intent is your window to object. Both are on the council’s traffic notices page.

Permit charges in Hounslow are based on your vehicle’s carbon dioxide emissions, across seven bands from 0g/km to over 226g/km, so two neighbours on the same street pay different amounts for the same kerb (Hounslow Council).

The ULEZ applies to every road in this borough

The Ultra Low Emission Zone covers all London boroughs, so there is no part of Chiswick, Brentford, Isleworth or Feltham outside it. The charge is £12.50 a day for a non-compliant vehicle and it runs 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day (Transport for London). Compliant vehicles pay nothing, but you have to have checked: the charge is not issued as a fine at the roadside, it turns up later.

Getting around without the car

• The District line. Twelve trains an hour from Turnham Green towards central London, all day. Our Chiswick trains to London page has the times, the fares and the platform trap at Chiswick station.
• Cycleway 9. The segregated two-way route runs from the Hammersmith direction through Chiswick and on past Kew Bridge to Watermans Park in Brentford, with the Kew Bridge to Watermans section completed in October 2023 (Transport for London).
• Hammersmith Bridge. Still the quickest way to Barnes on foot or by bike, and now permanently so.

Frequently asked questions

Will Hammersmith Bridge ever reopen to cars?

On current policy, no. Hammersmith and Fulham’s cabinet formalised the decision not to reopen it to motor traffic on 6 July 2026, after its own report found there was “no financial option available” for the roughly £300 million job. The council has moved to a £128 million phased repair plan that keeps the bridge open to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.

Who fixes potholes in Chiswick?

Hounslow Highways, on the borough’s own streets. It says it will inspect a reported pothole within two working days and repair it within 28 days, or 56 if traffic management is required. Potholes on the A4, A316, A205 or A406 are Transport for London’s, and on the M4 they are National Highways’.

What are the roadworks on the A4 in Chiswick and Brentford?

National Highways is repairing 12 concrete pillars holding up the M4 elevated section above the A4, between M4 junctions 1 and 2. The work began on 9 March 2026 and is expected to finish on 7 November 2026. Lane 3 westbound near Capital Interchange Way is closed throughout, and overnight closures run from 22:00 to 05:00 with diversions along Chiswick High Road and Ealing Road.

Where can I see current road closures in Hounslow?

On the council’s traffic notices map at hounslow.traffweb.app, which plots every traffic order and temporary restriction in the borough, and on the council’s traffic notices page, which lists the same orders as documents by month.

Do I have to pay the ULEZ charge in Chiswick?

If your vehicle does not meet the emissions standards, yes. The zone covers every London borough, so all of Chiswick is inside it, and the £12.50 daily charge applies 24 hours a day every day except Christmas Day.

Which Chiswick parking zones are changing in 2026?

The Mid Chiswick CPZ has a consolidation order made in July 2026 (TMO-P029-26) and the Central Chiswick CPZ has a notice of intent to amend it (TMO-P034-26). Consolidation orders covering Central, East and West Chiswick, Chiswick Riverside and Chiswick Mall were made in March 2026.

Why do permit prices differ between neighbours?

Because Hounslow prices permits on carbon dioxide emissions across seven bands, from 0g/km to over 226g/km, rather than charging a flat rate per household.

Related

• Chiswick trains to London: times, fares and the platform that costs you half an hour.
• Chiswick planning news: the Local Plan that decides where the next 28,800 homes go, and the traffic that comes with them.
• Things to do in Chiswick, including several places you are better off reaching on foot.

Sources

• New Civil Engineer, 8 July 2026, reporting Hammersmith and Fulham’s Report to Cabinet on the Hammersmith Bridge Restoration Programme, for the 6 July 2026 decision, the £300 million and £128 million figures, the thirds funding deal, the abandoned toll and the Structures Fund deadline.
• Hammersmith and Fulham democratic services: Restoration of Hammersmith Bridge for the cabinet agenda item itself.
• Hammersmith Bridge updates (GOV.UK) for the closure history and the Department for Transport funding to date.
• National Highways: A4 Great West Road, under the M4 in Brentford for the viaduct pillar refurbishment, its 9 March to 7 November 2026 programme, the lane closure and the overnight diversions.
• Hounslow Highways service standards for the pothole, fly-tipping and graffiti response times.
• Hounslow Council traffic notices and the traffic notices map for the 2026 Chiswick controlled parking zone orders.
• Hounslow Council emissions-based parking charges for the seven-band permit pricing.
• Transport for London: Ultra Low Emission Zone for the charge, the area and the hours.
• Transport for London traffic status for live conditions on the red routes.

Closures and traffic orders change weekly. Check the council’s traffic notices map and TfL’s traffic status page before you set off. Charges and service standards read in August 2026.