14.05.08
East London Line bridge installed over Great Eastern Railway
Commuters travelling into Liverpool Street Station in central London will have noticed the appearance of a new bridge over the railway tracks. International consultancy Scott Wilson, with its partners Benaim, was responsible for the design of the 1800 tonne structure, which is the second of three major bridges to be installed into position in quick succession as part of the East London Line project.
The huge steel truss bridge, named GE19, has a span of over 80 metres and was slid over the Great Eastern Railway during the bank holiday weekend, using a complex system of cables and jacks. It took just over eight hours to move from its previous location at the side of the tracks, where rail passengers will have seen its construction over the last few months.
The East London Line project is a TfL project to upgrade and extend the line to the north and south of its current route. The first phase of the project will extend the existing ELL northwards to Dalston Junction via a new route which formerly supported the North London Line to Broad Street and will include the construction of new stations at Hoxton, Haggerston, Dalston Junction and Shoreditch High Street.
To the south, the line will be extended from the existing station at New Cross Gate onto the National Rail network, providing an all station service to Crystal Palace and West Croydon. It is intended the line will run heavy rail Electrostar trains at tube frequency. From Dalston the line will be carried on the existing Kingsland Viaduct and a series of new bridge structures, including GE19, before it descends to pass through Brunel’s Thames Tunnel.
Scott Wilson was appointed to provide multi-disciplinary design services for the ELL in November 2006 by the Balfour Beatty – Carillion Joint Venture which has been awarded the contract for Phase One, and is a key part of the transport strategy for the 2012 Olympics.
Keith Wallace, chief executive of Scott Wilson Railways, said: “The successful installation of this bridge represents a significant milestone in this project. We look forward to further successes on what remains a very challenging project in terms of technical complexity and programme, but which will bring huge benefits to this part of east London.”
The successful installation of GE19 was followed the following weekend by the installation of the third Scott Wilson designed bridge at New Cross Gate.
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