Hammersmith Bridge is a symbol of our dysfunctional times. The money is there, the joined-up thinking isn’t | Simon Jenkins

London’s roads are horrendous, with constant roadworks and creaking infrastructure. And the emblem of all that spans the River Thames London’s Hammersmith Bridge is a metaphor for all that is wrong with British government. Closed to motor traffic and inert for seven years, it is a victim of the anarchy that seeps into every tier of public administration. The bridge sits today on a sublime bend in the Thames, guarded by what looks like Checkpoint Charlie in iron curtain Berlin. With Albert Bridge