Transport for London warns of road disruption ahead of Prudential RideLondon festival August 3 & 4

Transport for London has warned London road users to plan ahead around road and bridge closures during the Prudential RideLondon and FreeCycle events on August 3 and 4.

“Road users, residents and spectators advised to plan ahead to avoid disruption,” Transport for London says in a release.

Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport at TfL, said: “Prudential RideLondon will be the largest ever mass-participation cycling event to take place in the UK.

“We want all participants, spectators and residents to enjoy the event weekend and all the usual attractions London has to offer.

“However, it is important that people become aware of the road closures, particularly on Sunday August 4.

“Roads around the route will be particularly busy and we urge people to plan ahead to avoid the disrupted areas.”

Boris Johnson’s bike festival

Prudential RideLondon is a two-day festival of cycling, that is planned to be the largest mass-participant cycling event ever held in the UK, with thousands of cyclists, including some of the world’s top professionals, taking part across four separate events.

The weekend includes FreeCycle, a free, family friendly bike ride which will take place on closed roads within Westminster and the City of London on August 3.

On Sunday August 4 road users are also advised to avoid driving in east, central and southwest London, and in the affected parts of Surrey, for the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 and Classic events.

The 100-mile Prudential RideLondon-Surrey route, on August 4, will start in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, passing Tower Hill, Blackfriars, Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner, Gloucester Road, the Hammersmith Flyover, Cromwell Road, Chiswick Bridge, Sheen, Richmond Park, and Kingston.

It will then head into Surrey going through Walton on Thames, Weybridge, Newlands Corner, Holmbury St Mary, Leith Hill, Dorking, Box Hill, Leatherhead, Cobham and Esher.

On the return trip the route goes via Kingston, to Wimbledon, Putney High Street, Putney Bridge, New Kings Road, Chelsea Embankment, Millbank and Whitehall, before finishing on The Mall.

There will be a large number of road closures around the route from early morning on August 4 to make sure the route is secure and ready for the 100-mile event.

The events

The four main events of the weekend are:

Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle - an eight-mile central London route on closed roads for up to 50,000 people on Saturday August 3.

Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix criterium races. This invitational city centre loop will provide a focus for professional women, youth and hand cyclists on Saturday August 3

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100. A 100-mile challenge ride on Sunday August 4, including charitable fundraising, through London and Surrey via Richmond Park, expected to attract 20,000 riders.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classicmen’s road race. Starting in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and following part of the Olympic Road Race route, this race will see the top international professional men take to the roads of London and Surrey in a UCI Europe Tour event ranked at the 1.1 level.

Closed roads & bridges

Roads closed for the events include, but are not limited to, the A12, Limehouse Link Tunnel, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Underpass and the A4.

A large number of river crossings will be closed for much of the day, having a major impact on road transport along the route.

River crossings and roads closed to traffic but not pedestrians on Sunday August 4 will include:

• Blackwall Tunnel / A12 southbound - closed from 01:00, for regular maintenance work followed by the event preparation, to approximately 09:00
• A12 northbound from A13 - closed from 05:00 to approximately 09:00
• A13 eastbound and westbound from A12 to Leamouth Road - closed from 05:00 to approximately 09:00
• Tower Bridge and Southwark Bridge - closed from 04:00 to approximately 15:15
• Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge and Vauxhall Bridge closed from 05:00 to after 19:30
• Chelsea Bridge, Albert Bridge and Putney Bridge - closed from 05:00 to after 19:15
• Chiswick Bridge - closed from 05:00 to after 14:30
• Kingston Bridge - closed from 05:00 to after 19:15
• Hampton Court Bridge - closed from 05:00. Open from 15:30 northbound and 19:00 southbound

The following river crossings will remain open throughout the day to road traffic:

• Blackwall Tunnel northbound will remain open throughout the event with access to the A13 westbound and diversions to allow traffic to travel north
• Rotherhithe Tunnel, London Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge and Waterloo Bridge will all remain open
• Kew Bridge, Twickenham Bridge and Richmond Bridge will all remain open

Full details of road closures are available at www.tfl.gov.uk/prudentialridelondon and www.gosurrey.info.