The fight for Blackhorse Lane Bridge to open sooner has been taken to the Mayor of London.

London assembly member and Croydon councillor Steve O’Connell asked a question to London mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday.

The Kenley ward councillor said: “Should my constituents be satisfied that repairs to Blackhorse Lane Bridge will not be completed until 2022?”

Mr Khan said that TfL along with Croydon Council is making sure work done will last another 100 years.

The 120-year-old bridge in Woodside has been closed since 2016 and work to install a new bridge started this summer.

Addiscombe Park Bridge is also being replaced at the same time.

In his four-minute answer, he said replacing the two bridges was the only option.

Mr Khan said: “It is disappointing that work is taking longer than expected which means local residents are inconvenienced while the bridge is closed but safety must take priority.

“This is a highly complex civil engineering project

“During the initial investigations and enabling works a number of unforeseen issues were encountered.

“For example, the team working on the Addiscombe Park Bridge discovered a Victorian sewer system that was not detailed on any plans for the area. This has led to delays in the design stage of the project.”

Mr Khan said that final designs were still going through for approval and that TfL has been ‘working closely’ with Croydon Council.

Planned opening dates for the bridges are expected to be announced later this year.

At a Croydon Council meeting last week, Councillor Stuart King, cabinet member for transport, branded the delay “unacceptable”.

Croydon Central MP Sarah Jones’ constituency office is based on the same road and said she is frustrated that the opening of the bridge has been pushed back.

Addiscombe East ward councillor from the Conservative opposition, Jeet Bains, was also concerned about the setback.

“There are a few bodies who have control or influence and they are all Labour.

“Our point is they control everything but their only response is that Tories keep cutting funding for TfL.

“Anybody that takes the trouble to go and speak to the residents will know that they are absolutely distraught over it.

“Everybody understands that it is not easy

“The reason that we’ve been given is that they discovered some new utilities but that is not really cutting it for anybody.”

After Friday’s question Ms Jones tweeted that she will “work with politicians of all sides to get the job done."