London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has revealed that Graham has been awarded a £3.5m contract to deliver a new pedestrian and cycle bridge – Carpenters Land Bridge
The £3.5m contract, one of the first of 27 packages to be let, contracts Graham to build the new Carpenters Land Bridge which will connect East Bank on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the International Quarter London.
It will provide an access route between Stratford and East Bank.
The Mayor’s office granted planning permission last week for the 4.25-hectare site which will see new buildings for Sadler’s Wells dance theatre, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) including a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the BBC and a new campus for University of the Arts London: London College of Fashion.
Spread across three sites on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, East Bank will be at the centre of a growing cluster of commerce, technology, manufacture, retail, education, culture and the creative industries, delivering 2,500 jobs, attracting 1.5m additional visitors a year and generating £1.5bn for the local economy.
Graham will design and install a 66m long steel bridge, formed of a portal frame and bearings, a concrete cill beam and bearings within an existing retaining wall structure.
It will cross Network Rail and Docklands Light Railways lines.
Graham is also exploring the use of an SPMT (Self Propelled Modular Transporter) solution to install the bridge rather than the traditional usage of a crane.
This methodology has proven successful on similar projects and provides greater certainty to the installation, which is due to take place in late 2019.
An alternative to a crane, the bridge deck will be transported on the SPMT along the carriageway in a jacked up position circa 6-7m above ground level.
The bridge will not be balanced in the centre of the SPMT as the carriageway is close to one side of the abutments and therefore a large counterweight (approximately 400t) will be applied.
It will then be transported to the worksite and then, during a rail possession, it will be rotated and dropped in on top of a cill beam and portal frame, at either end of the bridge.
The team will also provide drainage works to the bridge’s deck, provision of bonding and lightning protection, and installation of a waterproofing system.
The project is underway and is due to be completed in spring 2020.
Leo Martin, Graham managing director of civil engineering, said: “We are pleased to have been chosen as the contractor to deliver the Carpenters Land Bridge on behalf of LLDC. Our vast experience of delivering similar schemes, and our excellent relationship and track record of partnership working, will ensure we are able to deliver the scheme effectively.
“When complete, the new bridge will provide a connection from the new East Bank to the International Quarter, providing residents with direct access to Stratford Waterfront and the hub of commercial activity in the area.”
East Bank is a new £1.1bn powerhouse of culture, education, innovation and growth being built on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London.
