A railway depot at the heart of the Olympic Park has been completely cleared to make way for the construction of a new pedestrian land-bridge between the Aquatics Centre and the Olympic Stadium.
The huge bridge will be the biggest in the Olympic Park and will be the main gateway for spectators getting to events in 2012.
Thornton’s Field, a railway depot, also needed to be dismantled to allow access for construction vehicles to get to the stadium island while the Olympic Stadium is being built.
The ODA released new photos and film of Thornton’s Field showing the site before dismantling began, and afterwards. Both photos show the strategic importance of clearing the site with the Stadium in the background. Before dismantling could begin at Thornton’s Field, an entirely new railway depot to house trains needed to be built. Orient Way sidings was completed on time and on budget and officially opened in July. The time lapse videos are of the last trains leaving Thornton’s Field and the construction of Orient Way, including the arrival of the first trains.
Transport Minister Tom Harris said: 'We want to deliver a world class transport system for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in four years time. It is very encouraging that the first piece of the infrastructure has been brought in ahead of time and on budget. This is the beginning of a programme of work that will leave a long-term economic and transport legacy for London and the Thames Gateway.'
ODA Director of Transport, Hugh Sumner, said: 'Thornton’s Field has been replaced by an excellent new depot at Orient Way for trains leaving London after the morning rush hour. Orient Way was completed five weeks early and on budget, which allowed the dismantling of Thornton’s Field to begin early.
'Train drivers and other staff have now also got a new accommodation block at Orient Way which means they have now completely moved in, and staff can begin to enjoy their new surroundings.'
This project was completed using sustainable methods with ninety-nine per cent of the demolition and site clearance waste from the Orient Way project being recycled, including:
- 4,000 tonne of crushed concrete, of which 1,000 tonnes was reused on site, 3,000 tonnes was reused off site;
- 620 tonnes of tarmac;
- 180 tonnes of steel;
- 20,000 tonnes of previous site ballast was screened and reused;
- Track was 100 per cent reused.
In addition, 3,250 yards of track was lifted and reused. Notes to editors
1. To download these photos and film footage, please go to
http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr117290717 2. The contract for the construction of the Aquatics Centre and the land-bridge that will be the main gateway into the Park during the games and legacy have been procured together and Balfour Beatty will build both elements.
3. The overhead line equipment from Thornton’s Field was returned to Network Rail for reuse.
4. The remediation on the Thornton’s Field site is expected to take five months.
5. For further information, please contact Holly Wheeler at the ODA press office on 0203 2012 669.
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