Frustration at Albert Bridge Closure on Both Sites of the River
Open letter written to councils and Mayor asking for repair to be accelerated
Albert Bridge shut for essential maintenance. Picture: RBKC
October 20, 2026
Frustrated residents living near Albert Bridge on both sides of the river have said the closure is causing traffic chaos, with journeys taking up to twice as long.
Albert Bridge has been closed since February 2026, after the Thames crossing was found to have a crack in one of its cast iron abutments. In April, the bridge also closed to pedestrians and cyclists for two days.
The bridge is owned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, who have said that it could be closed until 2027, while it carries out a repair job costing up to £8.5milllion.
Residents from Chelsea and Battersea have now penned an open letter, which has been signed by over 2,100 people, calling for stakeholders to work together to get the bridge fixed and reopened as soon as possible.
The letter, addressed to Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth councils, the Mayor of London and TfL, says that residential roads around the bridge are “gridlocked for extended periods throughout the day”.
“The closure has fundamentally affected daily life across Chelsea and Battersea, not to mention surrounding areas. Journeys that once took minutes now take 40-50% longer,” it adds.
“Residential roads are gridlocked for extended periods throughout the day. Parents are spending substantially more time on school runs. Buses are delayed and increasingly unreliable.
“Local businesses are being affected by reduced accessibility. Emergency services face greater congestion, and thousands of people are losing valuable time every week simply trying to travel around their own neighbourhoods.
“This is no longer an inconvenience. It is a significant quality-of-life issue affecting families, businesses, schools and communities on both sides of the river.”
The letter calls on all relevant authorities to work together “with urgency, transparency and accountability” to minimise the impact of the closure while repairs take place.
Kensington and Chelsea Council confirmed that it had put in a bid for part-funding from Transport for London and the Department for Transport.
However Sadiq Khan has refused to share the cost of repairs with the borough.
Speaking at City Hall, he said: “The responsibility for renewing and funding upgrades to Albert Bridge sits with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as the bridge owner. Transport for London and I will continue to support the borough as far as possible.”
Councillor Josh Rendall, Lead Member for Transport on Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: “Major repairs on an important structure like Albert Bridge will inevitably cause disruption. As a local resident myself, I’ve felt the impact of the closure and understand people’s frustration.
“Ultimately, we are dealing with a bridge that is over 150 years old, predates motor vehicles and was opened when Queen Victoria was on the throne. A repair like this cannot be hurried – it must be done with the utmost care, consideration and with safety as the primary focus.
“I’m in close contact with campaign groups about the intensive work taking place to reopen Albert Bridge as soon as we feasibly can. Transport for London is aware of the disruption, and I am regularly pressing for traffic signals and arrangements to be reviewed.
“I thank the campaign groups and all those affected by the closure for their patience while we safely, responsibly and carefully restore this icon of London.”
A Wandsworth Council spokesperson said: “We are in regular contact with local residents and businesses over this issue and recognise the delays and disruption that they are experiencing daily. We completely understand their frustrations over the impact of the closure which was due to safety issues identified on the bridge by Kensington & Chelsea Council, who own and manage the bridge.
We’re in constant communication with Kensington & Chelsea as well as TfL on behalf of residents in the surrounding area, including Battersea Bridge Road, who are living with the knock-on effects of these key road changes and need to be listened to.”
The Mayor of London and Transport for London did not respond to the LDRS’ request for a comment.
Katherine Gray - Local Democracy Reporter
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |