Ok, so 'Superbridge' is not the official name for the planned £455 million toll bridge that will link Newham and Greenwich. It's actually called the 'Thames Gateway bridge', but we prefer 'Superbridge', so that's what we're going to call it.
However Superbridge may never actually come into being as the plans for its development are going through a public enquiry, starting today.
On one side you have the Thames Gateway London Partnership who (as well as organising youth football projects and 'Creative Industry Hubs') want to build the six-lane monster-bridge (hmm, is that better then Superbridge?) and claim it will "generate at least 17,000 jobs north and south of the river".
They've already go the backing of Ken who greenlighted (or is it green lit?) the project in January of last year.
On the other side of course are Friends of the Earth who believe the bridge will "lead to more traffic congestion, air pollution and an increase in noise pollution."
Crucially Friends of the Earth claim (and, to be fair, they are getting their facts from a Transport for London environmental study) that:
The bridge would have "little impact" on traffic at other local crossings, with traffic in the Blackwall tunnel "remaining more or less unchanged". Transport for London's business survey cites "easing traffic congestion" as a key benefit expected of the bridge.
Strangely, the enquiry is being held at Charlton Athletic's stadium 'The Valley'. We can't see them selling many tickets for that.
