• LLDC awards £3.5m contract to GRAHAM to deliver a new Pedestrian and Cycle bridge
• 27 contract packages to be awarded for East Bank scheme
• Construction starts on two university campuses and three cultural buildings

 On the day that the Mayor of London attended the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start on site for East Bank, LLDC has announced that GRAHAM have been appointed to deliver a new Pedestrian and Cycle bridge that will link the £1.1 billion East Bank culture and education district on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to International Quarter London.

The £3.5 million contract, which is one of the first of 27 packages to be let, contracts GRAHAM to build a new Carpenters Land Bridge connecting East Bank to the International Quarter London providing people with 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 heart of a growing cluster of commerce, technology, manufacture, retail, education, culture and the creative industries, delivering 2,500 jobs, attracting 1.5 million additional visitors a year and generating £1.5 billion for the local economy.

GRAHAM’S civil engineering team 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 and will cross Network Rail and Docklands Light Railways lines.

East Bank also includes sites for UCL East in the south of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and for a new V&A Collection and Research Centre at Here East in the north of the Park. East Bank will provide skills and jobs for local people, attracting visitors from around the world, bringing more than 10,000 students to the site, delivering 2,500 jobs, a £1.5 billion boost to the economy and 600 new homes. At least 50 per cent of new homes across the remaining development sites on the Park will be affordable, in line with the Mayor’s commitment to provide 50 per cent affordable housing on public land.

Colin Naish, Executive Director of Construction at the London Legacy Development Corporation, said: “These packages are opportunities to help build one of the largest and most significant culture and education projects in the world. East Bank will be a powerhouse of culture, education and innovation with world-class institutions. We want the best that industry has to offer to help maintain the high standards of construction already established on the Park.”

GRAHAM are also looking at use of SPMTs (Self Propelled Modular Transporter) to install the bridge rather than the traditional usage of a crane used on similar projects and provides greater certainty to the installation which is due to take place in late 2019. This is an alternative to a crane, whereby the bridge deck will be transported on the SPMTs 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 (aprox 400t) will be applied. It will then be transported to the worksite and then during a rail position 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, Managing Director of GRAHAM’s civil engineering division, 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.”

Procurement for the construction contracts is being led by LLDC, which is also the construction client.