BW photo, taken from one of the new tall buildings on the north side - maybe the Martini building.
On the left is North Thames Gas, and the old Agfa-Gevaert buildings. The Coles Priestman (cranes/construction) building is now gone, to be replaced with a 1982 six-storey HQ for Agfa UK.
In the background, Kew Bridge Station, Brentford FC, the old gasworks, and the River Thames.
There could be prizes (well, points anyway) for being able to date the photo, maybe from the somewhat sparse traffic on the motorway.
When originally constructed (and Macleans (toothpaste) sued for £1M for 'loss of daylight' when the flyover passed over their rooftop in Boston Manor Road, heading westwards), the elevated structure was equipped with electrical under-road heating. A series of small substations hugged the supporting pillars. Rising energy prices saw off continued use of the system, and the highways authorities resorted to the usual salt-sand mix for de-icing. Unfortunately, both tarmac and concrete were porous, and no membrane, and the salt leached through to the supporting concrete, corroding and swelling the steel reinforcing. In many places, the steel bars actually broke through the concrete surface.
The proposal was to drill the concrete, about every 20cm, across its entire surface, and to inject stabilising solutions. Squads of men were employed to paint small black marks on the concrete, to tell the drillers where to place their bits. So far as I know, the drilling was never done (and I'm talking 25 years ago now), but the black blobs remain! At the last count, total demolition of the elevated section was being discussed.
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