Wandsworth Roadworks: Bridge Lane Closures Until October

Two of the four Thames crossings on Wandsworth’s northern edge are disrupted at once, which is the single fact that shapes driving in this borough at the moment. Wandsworth Bridge is down to reduced lanes until the end of October, and Albert Bridge has been closed to vehicles since a routine inspection, with no reopening date given.

Everything below is taken from Wandsworth Council’s own Roadworks and Events Bulletin, the list it publishes every week, checked here against the bulletin for the week commencing 10 August 2026, plus the Council’s scheme pages. Dates on utility works slip, so treat an end date as a plan rather than a promise.

The two bridges

Wandsworth Bridge (A217) is being rebuilt around the traffic rather than closed. Works started on Tuesday 26 May 2026 and are expected to finish at the end of October 2026, weather permitting. Two-way motor traffic is maintained throughout, but the northbound bus lane and the carriageway cycle lane are suspended for the whole programme, and traffic management is being rephased as the work moves along the deck.

The job covers bridge deck repair and waterproofing, a new stepped cycle track on each side, widened and resurfaced footways, junction and bus stop improvements at Jews Row, new contraflow cycling on Jews Row, and full carriageway resurfacing at the end. That last stage brings about a week of overnight closures, 9pm to 5am, with the bridge reopening each morning and diversions signed. The date for that week had not been confirmed at the time of writing. On the Hammersmith and Fulham side the permanent signals north of the bridge are switched off and replaced by temporary intelligent lights linked to TfL’s control systems. (Wandsworth Council, Wandsworth Bridge works)

Albert Bridge (SW11) remains closed to vehicles until further notice, a precaution after routine inspections by Kensington and Chelsea’s highways engineers, who own the bridge. Traffic is diverted via Chelsea Bridge and Battersea Bridge. It stays open to pedestrians and cyclists. (Wandsworth Council roadworks bulletin, week commencing 10 August 2026)

The practical effect is that Battersea Bridge and Chelsea Bridge are absorbing traffic from both, so the Queenstown Road and Battersea Bridge Road approaches run heavier than the map suggests, particularly in the evening peak.

Long runs that will outlast the summer

A handful of schemes are measured in seasons rather than weeks. These are the ones worth planning routes around.

The Nine Elms cluster is the one people underestimate. Cringle Street, Kirtling Street and Ponton Road have been under TfL works since early 2025 and are booked through to February 2027, so the grid between Nine Elms Lane and Battersea Park Road is a long-term constraint rather than a passing inconvenience. It is also the part of the borough where the housing target is being delivered, which is why the construction traffic is not going anywhere.

Shorter closures in August

From the same bulletin, these run out during or just after August 2026:

• Buckhold Road, SW18 is fully closed between Hardwick’s Square and Broomhill Road for Southern Gas Networks mains replacement, 20 July to 30 August.
• Alton Road, SW15 has multi-way signals from Breamore Close to the Bessborough Road junction for highways improvements, 20 July to 29 August.
• Putney Heath, SW15 has multi-way signals at Putney Park Lane, Telegraph Road and Tildesley Road for Cadent Gas, 10 to 24 August.
• Welham Road, SW16 is closed from Nimrod Road to Ribblesdale Road for SGN, running since January and due to end 22 August.
• Bickersteth Road, SW17 is closed outside number 89 for EE, 16 to 29 August.
• Southcroft Road, SW17 has two-way signals at Freshwater Road for UK Power Networks, 13 to 28 August.
• Selkirk Road, SW17 is closed outside number 28 for Thames Water, 3 to 21 August.
• Northcote Road, SW11 closes at weekends between Battersea Rise and Broomwood Road for street events, 11 July to 30 August, with diversions signed.

The routes that carry the borough

Between programmes, the same handful of roads decide how Wandsworth moves.

• The A3 enters at Putney Hill and runs out over Putney Heath to Tibbets Corner and the Robin Hood roundabout. TfL closes slip roads here overnight for maintenance, and when it does, everything routes through Putney High Street instead.
• The A205 South Circular crosses the borough through Putney and up to the bridge, sharing tarmac with the A3 for part of the way. It has no alternative worth the name.
• The A24 runs Balham High Road to Tooting High Street and Tooting Broadway, the borough’s busiest shopping spine and its most signal-heavy corridor.
• The A3220 Queenstown Road links Chelsea Bridge to Queens Circus and Battersea. Its corridor upgrade, including pedestrian and cycling improvements, was completed with overnight resurfacing between Chelsea Bridge and Queens Circus in March 2026. (Wandsworth Council)
• The Wandsworth one-way system around the town centre and Wandsworth High Street ties the bridge, the A3 and the A205 together, and is where a bridge delay becomes a borough delay.

One boundary point that catches people out: Wandsworth Road is in Lambeth and Wandsworth Bridge Road is in Hammersmith and Fulham. Works listed under those names, including the current Wandsworth Road lane closure, are another council’s, and Wandsworth’s bulletin flags them as such.

The resurfacing programme behind the cones

Not all of the disruption is utilities digging up finished roads. The Council runs a ten year programme it calls the Decade of Renewal, launched in February 2024, and it has more than doubled annual spending on roads and pavements from £4.6 million in 2023/24 to £10.25 million in the year to April 2026, funded from developer contributions.

By April 2026 that money had resurfaced more than 14.7 km of road, refurbished over 27.2 km of pavement, replaced or repaired around 1,000 street name signs including 400 heritage plates, repaired over 500 streetlights, completed road markings on every A and B road in the borough, and filled 1,140 potholes, with the Council saying every dangerous pothole was fixed within seven days of being reported. (Wandsworth Council, A year of road and pavement renewals)

Checking and reporting for yourself

The Roadworks and Events Bulletin is published weekly as a PDF and is the most useful single document for anyone driving in the borough: it separates emergency works, planned works, advance notices and events, and gives the contractor’s phone number against each entry. Find the current one on the Council’s roadworks pages.

To report a problem rather than read about one:

• Water leaks: Thames Water, 0800 714 614.
• Gas escapes: 0800 111 999.
• Potholes, street lights and signs: Wandsworth Council, 020 8871 6000.

If your journey is a commute rather than a car trip, the rail network is largely untouched by all of this, and most of the borough is 20 minutes or less from a central London terminus.

Frequently asked questions

Is Wandsworth Bridge closed?

No. It is open to two-way motor traffic while works run to the end of October 2026, though the northbound bus lane and the carriageway cycle lane are suspended throughout. Near the end of the programme it closes overnight, 9pm to 5am, for about a week of resurfacing, on dates yet to be confirmed.

Why is Albert Bridge closed?

It is closed to vehicles as a precaution following routine inspections by Kensington and Chelsea’s highways engineers, and remains closed until further notice. Walkers and cyclists can still cross. Traffic is diverted via Chelsea Bridge and Battersea Bridge.

Where can I see all current Wandsworth roadworks?

Wandsworth Council publishes a Roadworks and Events Bulletin every week, listing emergency works, planned works and events with dates and contractor contacts. It is linked from the Council’s roadworks pages.

How long are the Nine Elms road works running?

The TfL works at Cringle Street, Kirtling Street and Ponton Road are programmed through to 3 February 2027. Separate lane closures and banned movements on Nine Elms Lane are expected to finish in autumn 2026.

Who do I report a pothole to in Wandsworth?

Wandsworth Council, on 020 8871 6000 or through its website. The Council says dangerous potholes are repaired within seven days of being reported.

Sources

• Roadworks and Events Bulletin, week commencing 10 August 2026 (Wandsworth Council) for every street-level closure, date and contractor.
• Wandsworth Bridge works (Wandsworth Council) for the scheme scope, dates and traffic arrangements.
• A year of road and pavement renewals in Wandsworth (Wandsworth Council, 13 March 2026) for the Decade of Renewal spending and delivery figures.
• Queenstown Road works mark final phase of major upgrade (Wandsworth Council) for the A3220 corridor scheme.
• Wandsworth Council roadworks pages for the current bulletin.

Roadworks dates change at short notice. Check the current bulletin before planning a journey around any single closure listed here.