Delay for Millennium Bridge £3.5m refurbishment

A £3.5m refurbishment of the Millennium Bridge, expected to begin by this spring, has been pushed back to next year.

The City Bridge Foundation, which owns the Central London crossing, said the delay is due to a "lower than expected number of responses" to its tender for a contractor to carry out the works.

According to the tender published by the City of London Corporation, the City Bridge Foundation has been looking for a contractor to resurface the crossing's deck, repaint the steelwork, and re-tension the suspension cables.

The 25-year-old bridge closed soon after its opening for being too wobbly.

The City Bridge Foundation said any disruption of the crossing should be minimised, adding it would be up to contractors to pitch how this would be achieved.

"Contractors are encouraged to explore alternative solutions and approaches to maximise the time that the bridge can remain in operation during the project," the tender stated.

"Details of alternative solutions should be included separately as part of your submission."

Costs of updating the bridge have been estimated between £2.75m and £3.5m.

However, the City Bridge Foundation has since told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the works are not expected to begin now until 2026.

A spokesperson said a further announcement would be made in due course.

"Earlier this year, we went out to tender for a contractor to carry out refurbishment work on Millennium Bridge," they said.

"Due to a lower than expected number of responses, we have taken the decision to retender for the work, splitting the bridge redecking and painting and the re-tensioning of the cables that support the bridge into two separate briefs.

"This means we won't now be in a position to begin the refurbishment work until next year."

The Millennium Bridge opened in June 2000, linking St Paul's Cathedral with the Tate Modern Gallery on the south side of the Thames.

It was quickly closed due to excessive swaying, earning it the nickname the 'wobbly bridge'. Following works to stabilise the crossing it was reopened in February 2002.

The City Bridge Foundation is a 900-year-old charity which looks after five Thames crossings: Tower, London, Southwark, Millennium and Blackfriars. Its sole trustee is the City of London Corporation, and elected members sit on the foundation's board.

"Millennium Bridge marks its 25th birthday this year and with thousands of people walking over it every day, that inevitably takes its toll," a City Bridge Foundation spokesperson said previously.

Almost a quarter of a century on, the aluminium bridge deck is "beginning to become worn", the spokesperson added. "Meaning it is now smoother and more slippery than it used to be, so we need to act now to ensure the bridge remains safe for people to use."

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