Story by Joe Acklam.

Steel support frames are being installed by world-leading experts on Hammersmith Bridge to help stabilise the 135-year-old structure. 

Hammersmith and Fulham Council have announced that in an effort to reinforce the bridge, bespoke steel frames made of 29 giant sheets will be installed, which have been painted in the original Grade II listed green colour. 

Once the steel frames are fitted, the engineers will jack up the saddles and replace the corroded seized bearings as the final phase of the stabilisation process of the Victorian structure. 

After this process is completed, the next development of Hammersmith Bridge will be repair of the bridge's surface and decking to get the bridge ready to reopen the main carriageway to cyclists. 

As well as repairing the bridge, this operation is being used to help train the next generation of engineers, as the specialist engineers have been joined by 25 third-year civil engineering students from Trinity College Dublin. 

John Hickey, a Structural Engineering lecturer who accompanied the undergraduates, said: "Maintenance and repair of old infrastructure is going to be a big part of the careers of civil engineers in the future. 

"Getting to see Hammersmith Bridge is really useful to help students to understand the challenges that they, and society in general, will face in the coming years as critical infrastructure ages."