Preparations ahead of the ground breaking
Mayor Boris Johnson, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, Transport for London Commissioner Peter Hendy, Crossrail Chief Executive Rob Holden and outgoing Crossrail chairman Doug Oakervee were present when a drilling rig signalled the start of work on cofferdam construction for the station box. Prime Minister Gordon Brown also gate-crashed the party.
Developer Canary Wharf Group last week appointed contractor Laing O’Rourke
as delivery partner for the box, which is designed by consultant Arup. Ignoring the pre-work that has taken place at Tottenham Court Road and elsewhere, Isle of Dogs station will be the first major piece of civil engineering on the line.
The huge 260m long, 30m wide and 22m deep cofferdam to house the station is being created by Expanded Piling, one of Laing O’Rourke's subsidiaries. For this it will insert 1.2m diameter tubular steel piles into the dock bed.
The station is expected to be completed by summer next year.
Canary Wharf Group chief executive George Iacobescu said:
Canary Wharf and London’s transport infrastructure needs to keep pace with future growth, especially if we are to retain our position as a global commercial centre in the face of competition from developing cities around the world.Rob Holden said:
This is another important step forward for the project and further proof of the will and determination to see Crossrail built. I am delighted that preparations for the start of work on this key station are so well advanced.Although the Isle of Dogs station is just one part of the overall Crossrail scheme, it is a huge £500m project in its own right. The 260m-long box is as long as the tallest building at Canary Wharf, and the final station will be about six storeys high - four of which will be underground or underwater in the north dock of West India Quay in Canary Wharf.
The bottom floor of the station will be the platform level, around 22m below water level and 13m below the dock bed. Above this will be a concourse level, two levels of retail, followed by two further retail levels above water and a man-made landscaped park level.
The top of the box is finished off by a wooden lattice structure with ETFE cladding to allow light into the area.
Thanks to GMR-SGNDV for the photos.
I'm not sure that the station will be complete by summer next year - that would be pretty heroic work! Possibly the foundations/piling complete in a year's time, with the structure itself taking quite a bit longer?
ReplyDeleteApologies Mwmbwls fwnbwls. You are correct.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering where they were going to "fit" the station in Canary Whary. Building it into the dock is one of the few spaces left, although it might ruin the summer Dragon Boat races.
ReplyDeleteIt will leave annoying walks between the Underground, DLR and Crossrail services that I have always thought a bit unsatisfactory in the Wharf.
Still better to have the connections with a short walk between them than not at all!
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ReplyDeleteThat's a very old diagram. The crossover has been removed and the whole station moved further wes, and the access arrangements are a bit different.
ReplyDeleteThis photo from Boris's twitter is as good as I've seen. All the bridges on this side will be drawbridges!
(Also, the station is now called Canary Wharf)
Whats all that in front of the station! I thought that was a development site for towers ?
ReplyDelete"(Also, the station is now called Canary Wharf)"
ReplyDeletethe full title is "Canary Wharf Crossrail" to distinguish it from the other two unconnected stations. Its a shame the can't spend some of the 500mil on a walkway/travelator similar to the one between Waterloo Jubilee and Bakerloo/Northern.