Safety comes first in construction of the Olympic Park

Since the ODA gained possession of the site last July, over 2,000 workers on site have been working to clean and clear the area ready for the start of construction.
Demolition has been completed on the sites of the ‘Big 5’ venues – the Olympic Stadium, the Aquatics Centre, the IBC/MPC, the Velopark and the Olympic Village – and over 1.3million tonnes of soil is being cleaned of contamination.

On the Olympic Stadium site alone over 800,000 tonnes of soil – enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall nine times over – has had to be been taken away to be re-used elsewhere on the site. The work has completed to dig the Stadium bowl and construction will begin in May, 3 months ahead of schedule.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'To achieve more than two million hours without a reportable accident on a project of this size and scale is a great achievement and is thanks to the hard work and dedication of teams on the site.

'Over the last year, around 180 buildings have been demolished and thousands of tonnes of soil tested and cleaned in a challenging demolition and earthworks programme. This has not only been achieved on time and to schedule but to the very highest standards of health and safety.

'A big challenge lies ahead of us as we prepare for the start of the ‘big build’ and construction work starting ahead of schedule in May, but we will continue to ensure that health and safety comes first.'

John Armitt today visited staff locations throughout the 2.5 square kilometre site to thank workers for their work and hear about the progress and achievements made to date.

The visit included a trip to the Medical Centre that has been established on the Olympic Park where John Armitt met the medical team responsible for monitoring the health of the workers.

Notes to Editor:
1. Around 2,500 workers are currently working on the Olympic Park construction site
2. Photographs of John Armitt’s site visit are available from the ODA Press Office.

– Ends –

For further information please contact the Olympic Delivery Authority Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 700

Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our Work in Progress blog.