User:Ravensbury/sandbox

The Mitcham Bridge is a bridge in Mitcham, London, United Kingdom. It crosses over the River Wandle, and is on an A Road (A217 road) with Bishopsford Road on the south side, and London Road on the north side of the bridge.

Collapse
On 10 June 2019, a flood occurred while bridge surfacing work was being undertaken. Acrows props had been placed under the bridge to support the weight of the works above, which trapped debris (branches, weeds etc).

During the flood, the acrows props caused Bridge scour (eroding) up to 4m deep and undermined the foundations of the bridge. This led to the partial collapse of the northern arch. The southern arch was unaffected and the central arch suffered minor structural damage. Due to the collapse of the bridge, the road continued to be closed until options appraisals to repair or replace the bridge have been completed.

Post collapse, investigations and reactions
Merton London Borough Council is working with FM Conway and the Environment Agency and has focused their attention on stabilising the remaining structure to prevent further damage and make the bridge safe for inspections and for workers to carry out repairs.

They have completed crack-injection and underpinning works below the bridge to stabilise the central arch. The scour hole on the upstream side of the bridge has been filled with stone and gravel. The scour hole under the northern arch has been filled with marine concrete to stabilise the northern arch and create a safe platform for further works.

Works have since stopped while insurance investigators inspect the remains to determine blame.

Technical specification
The bridge was a triple arch Masonry Bridge made of brick. It had a length of 22 meters, a width of 10 meters and a passage height for of 1.7 meters.