Just when Putney residents thought it might be safe to take the car out again… here comes another round of traffic chaos. Thames Water has just announced it’ll be digging up Putney High Street again next week – and locals are left wondering if the gridlock will ever end.
Starting Monday 14 April, emergency repairs will close lanes right at the High Street’s busiest pinch-point – the junction with Chelverton Road, outside Robert Dyas. Temporary multi-way traffic signals are being put in place for three days, but let’s be honest: we all know this means one thing – complete and utter gridlock.
And of course, this comes hot on the heels of not one but two recent spells of traffic mayhem on Lower Richmond Road. Lane closures, temporary lights, long delays – sound familiar?
Then there’s the High Street itself, which now seems to be in a permanent state of crawling traffic, with buses backed up and pedestrians dodging exhaust fumes like it’s an urban survival sport.
Six year anniversary tomorrow!
And let’s not forget the big one: Hammersmith Bridge, still closed to vehicles six years tomorrow! Local MP Fleur Anderson recently claimed that we could be waiting a decade more before it reopens. Yes, you read that right – 2035.
So now, with thousands of extra vehicles rerouted through Putney, roadworks every other week, and no clear end in sight, residents are understandably fed up.
The council says Thames Water’s latest works are “essential” – which may be true, but essential or not, the message for Putney is the same: brace yourself for yet more delays, fumes, and frustration.
Because in Putney, traffic misery isn’t an exception. It’s the new normal.
