None of the parties involved - TfL, the Gov, Hammersmith Council and Richmond Council - wants to commit to a particular sum for a very good reason: the cost of repairs has only been estimated, not measured. The estimate is based on work commissioned and paid by H&F:(1) a very precise engineering model of the bridge and (2) samples of areas with cracked cast iron. We will only know the full extent of the cracking and repairs needed when the parts are fully exposed. But by then the payer is "on the hook to pay". What we really need is a "sugar daddy" with deep pockets! Hammersmith Council is right to point to the Government's record of paying for national infrastructure: "... between 77 and 94 per cent of bridge upgrades in areas such as Northumberland, Cleveland, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Dudley this year."  I wonder which party is in power in those County Councils?!

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