Major works officially announced as regular barge-loads have now started from River Thames.
On 23rd November 2015, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, visited the Ferrovial Agroman Laing O’Rourke JV (FLO) site in Battersea to officially announce the commencement of the £472m Northern line extension project.
In his last visit to a construction site before stepping down in 2016, the Mayor met the team and officially launched the major transport development scheme which will facilitate the regeneration of the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea areas, expanding direct connections to central London and supporting the creation of 24,000 new jobs and 18,000 new homes.
The extension, which was awarded to FLO in 2014, will include over three kilometres of new twin tunnels and two new stations; one located at the heart of the new Battersea Power Station development and another in Nine Elms.
Boris Johnson launched the specially-designed, 300m long conveyor-belt which will help to transport around 600,000 tonnes of excavated material via the river Thames. He could also see first-hand the progress under way across the project including the two diaphragm-walling piles signifying the first permanent works for the Battersea site and meet some of the project’s apprentices and graduates.
The excavation material generated by the NLE construction sites will be loaded onto barges to be taken down stream to Goshems Farm in East Tilbury, Essex, where it will be used to create arable farmland.
Mike Brown MVO, London’s Transport Commissioner, said:
"The extension of the Northern line is vital to supporting and enabling growth in this area, transforming transport links into the West End and the City which will be just under 15 minutes away. It will also support London's future growth and create jobs through the supply chain across the UK. This is just one of the many projects that LU has underway to modernise and improve the Tube network to keep pace with the city's sharply rising population."
Mario Mostoles, Managing Director of Ferrovial Agroman UK & Ireland, said:
"Following our success with the Crossrail projects, at Heathrow and now with the NLE and Tideway Central contracts, we are extremely proud to be playing such an important role in the development and growth of London. Our position in the UK market has gone from strength to strength and I look forward to continuing to work with our clients to ensure the capital gets the infrastructure it needs, delivered safely, on time and to budget"
Luis Rallo, NLE Project Director, Ferrovial Agroman said:
"Not only does today mark the official launch of construction of the Northern Line extension project but it also recognises the great efforts and excellent achievements to date - a real testament of the successful and close collaboration between the project team and our client. Amidst all the technical and logistical challenges posed by a project of this size, all NLE sites are achieving Beacon Status (Health and Safety top standard performance recognised within London Underground portfolio) and are on track to deliver this vital section of London's tube network."
Will Reed, Ferrovial Agroman Engineering graduate, who met the Mayor this morning said:
‘It was a brilliant experience to have the Mayor of London visit the Northern Line Extension at Battersea. He was very impressed with what the team have achieved so far and recognized the importance of our project and what its bringing to the local area and London infrastructure as a whole''
The launch of the 2 TBMs to drive the main two tunnels for NLE is due to begin in early 2017. At its peak, the conveyor will load 26 barges a week, each carrying around 1,000 tonnes of earth to Essex by river. By transporting the excavated material in this way, it will remove around 40,000 lorry journeys from London’s roads and reduce traffic congestion, helping to keep both cyclists and pedestrians safe.
The new tube extension will serve developments such as the relocated US Embassy and the redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market, as well as existing disconnected communities and new housing developments.
FLO was awarded the £472m Northern Line Extension contract in September 2014. Through a considered and proactive approach, the well-established joint venture, Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O’Rourke achieved industry-leading safety results as HETCo under a design and build contract for the new Terminal 2A, Heathrow. T2A became the UK’s safest construction project – with 5.5 million RIDDOR-free hours – and the first airport terminal in the world rated BREEAM Excellent. More recently, Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O’Rourke were awarded the Tideway Central contract, the largest of three contracts to build a tunnel to tackle the problem of overflows from the capital’s Victorian sewers into the river Thames.
