A217 road

The A217 starts as a non-primary A-road named Wandsworth Bridge Road, Fulham in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and runs for 0.8 miles (1.3 km) before crossing over the River Thames at Wandsworth Bridge. The road enters the town and London borough of Wandsworth. The road turns right at a roundabout on to Swandon Way, becoming a primary route for a short stretch (as a continuation of the A3205), before passing Wandsworth Town railway station. It is briefly called Fairfield St before meeting the A3 (Wandsworth High St.).

The road reverts to non-primary status, and changes name to Garratt Lane, passing Southside shopping centre, before it heads out of Wandsworth and into Earlsfield. It passes the B234 shortly before reaching Earlsfield railway station. It continues through Earlsfield as Garratt Lane and the road passes the B229 (Burntwood Lane) before it reaches Streatham Cemetery.

In Lower Tooting, it meets Tooting Broadway, a busy junction with the A24 and tube station, before becoming Mitcham Road and passing the B241 (Rectory Lane). It passes Tooting railway station and this is where the road exits the London Borough of Wandsworth.

The A217, passing Figges Marsh in Mitcham

It becomes London Road as it enters the London Borough of Merton. It continues through the one-way system at Mitcham and passes Mitcham tram station before becoming Bishopsford Road. The road reaches Rosehill, which contains a busy 6-way roundabout, before becoming a primary class A-road as it becomes Reigate Avenue (effectively the Sutton by-pass.) As the Sutton by-pass, the road passes the B279 (Sutton Common Road) and Sutton Common area, which changes name to Oldfields Road and passes the Tesco superstore in the Kimpton Park commercial and industrial area. It passes a crossroads with Gander Green Lane and becomes St Dunstans Hill before reaching a junction in Cheam with the A232 (High St and Ewell Road). It becomes Belmont Rise and goes past a crossroads with Northey Avenue and the road leaves the suburban area of Belmont, as well as Greater London.

Mitcham Bridge
Coordinates	51°23′43″N 0°10′24″W
Locale	Mitcham, London
Maintained by	Merton London Borough Council
Characteristics
Design	Three Arch Masonry Bridge
Material	Brick
Total length	22 m (72 ft)
Width	10 m (33 ft)
Height	1.7 m (6 ft)
Piers in water	2
No. of lanes	2
History
Construction end	1789
Collapsed	14 June 2019

The A217 crosses over the River Wandle in Mitcham on the Mitcham Bridge. Bishopsford Road is on the south side, and London Road is on the north side of the bridge. The bridge is a triple arch masonry bridge made of brick. It is 22 m (72 ft) long and 10 m (33 ft) high with a passage height of 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in).

Flood

River Wandle Flood

Date	10 June 2019 (2019-06-10)
Location	Mitcham, London, United Kingdom

On 10 June 2019, a flood occurred while bridge surfacing work was being undertaken. Jack posts had been placed under the bridge to support the weight of the works above, which trapped debris (branches, weeds etc.).[1]

Collapse

Bridge collapse

Date	14 June 2019 (2019-06-14)
Location	Mitcham, London, United Kingdom
Also known as	Bishopsford Road Bridge
Cause	Flood during structural work

Mitcham Bridge damage

During the flood, the jack posts caused Bridge scour (eroding) up to 4 m (13 ft) deep and undermined the foundations of the bridge. This led to the partial collapse of the northern arch on 14 June 2019. The southern arch was unaffected and the central arch suffered minor structural damage. Due to the collapse of the bridge, the road was closed for an extended period while options of repair or replacement were being evaluated.[2]

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.

At the road enters Surrey, it meets the B2230 again at a roundabout to the south of Belmont before entering the notorious 'Mad Mile' section (Brighton Road). The speed limit changes from 40 to 60 mph (96 km/h) and returns to 40 mph at the Banstead Crossroads junction with the A2022. In this area the road passes Banstead Downs, and its golf course. After passing the Banstead Crossroads, it acts as a boundary between Nork and Banstead as it heads towards Burgh Heath, passing the junctions with Garratts Lane (B2219) and Tattenham Way (B2221) before reaching the A240 (Reigate Road) at the centre of Burgh Heath. to It passes near the large suburban villages of Tadworth and Kingswood, passing several B-roads, including the B2032. It travells beside Banstead Heath (still as Brighton Road) before reaching the small settlement of Lower Kingswood. After passing a roundabout near Kingswood Manor, the road arrives at the Reigate Hill Interchange, which is also Junction 8 of the M25.

At this point, the A217 becomes a non-primary A-road. It is now named Reigate Hill, in a very steep section of the North Downs. The area become more urban at the bottom of the hill, on the northern outskirts of the town of Reigate. It passes through a level crossing next to Reigate station. It runs concurrently with the A25 through the main one-way system of Reigate town centre. It carries on through the localities of Woodhatch and Doversgreen before going into a very rural area. It travels over the River Mole in the small hamlet of Sidlow. After a period of farms, the road passes the village of Hookwood, taking a left turn at a roundabout. Continuing past Povey Cross, the road reaches Longbridge Roundabout on the border with West Sussex.

In August 2006 two men illegally racing along this stretch of a public highway caused an accident that killed three people, a separate offence, and were sentenced to imprisonment for a term of years. Aggravating the offence committed, the conviction found from the evidence in the case that the two men were driving recklessly at a speed much faster than the 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) limit on the road at the point of the accident.