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Bridges, subways and walls

We're responsible for maintaining over 70 bridges within Southwark, including Willowbrook Bridge, Commercial Way Bridge and the Neate Street footbridge in Burgess Park.

Some bridges and subways within Southwark are owned and maintained by other organisations. If you're concerned about possible damage to the structures listed below, use the relevant organisation links to contact them directly:

  • bridges spanning the river Thames including London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Southwark Bridge and the Millennium Footbridge, are maintained by the Corporation of London 
  • railway bridges and tunnels are maintained by Network Rail
  • subways under red routes (for example, subways under Elephant and Castle roundabouts are maintained by Transport for London)
  • Rotherhithe Tunnel is also maintained by Transport for London

Maintenance and problem reporting

We regularly inspect all our bridges and subways and have a maintenance programme to ensure their safety. Please contact us directly to report any accidents, flooding, or other problems that may have made a bridge or subway unsafe.

If you witness a vehicle striking a bridge or causing damage, make a note of the vehicle registration details and report it to us. We may be able to trace the vehicle and recover the costs of repairing any damage.

Any walls that form part of the highway, eg a retaining wall or embankment wall, are likely to be maintained by us. Any dangerous walls should be reported to us, even if they belong to private property. We can ensure that works are carried out to make dangerous walls safe.

Low bridges and prevention of bridge strikes 

You can download the Department of Transport's guide to avoiding bridge strikes. This will be of particular importance to professional drivers of heavy goods vehicles.  

Bridge weight restrictions and bridge strengthening

The maximum weight permitted on bridges in Southwark is 40 tonnes. All bridges we look after are regularly assessed to ensure they're strong enough to support this weight. Some bridges that are awaiting strengthening works may have a temporary weight restriction put in place, this will be indicated by signs on the road approaching the bridge.

Page last updated: 03 September 2024

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