A major milestone has been reached on National Grid’s London Cable Tunnels project with contractor Costain achieving breakthrough of its 4m diameter TBM Cleopatra on the 8km long Eade Road in Haringey, north London, to St John’s Wood Substation, in the city’s northwest. Together with earlier tunnelling by her ‘sister’ TBM, Evelyn, almost half of the planned 32km of the London Power Tunnels (LPT) has been completed.
The project is creating new routes for 400kV high-voltage electricity cables beneath the capital, playing a vital role in ensuring Londoners have reliable power supplies for decades into the future. In the process Cleopatra has removed 250,000m³ of earth, while some 36,000 concrete segments have been bolted together to form the new tunnel.
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“This breakthrough is the culmination of nearly 18 months’ work for the entire team and demonstrates Costain’s ability to design, engineer and deliver projects that meet national needs,” said Andy Firth, Costain Project Manager.
“While the team is celebrating this success, this flagship project for National Grid has another 16km of tunnel to be completed and the team is already in the process of addressing this challenge and delivering the next milestone.”
National Grid’s Head of Cable Tunnels, David Luetchford, added: “This project is an excellent illustration of what National Grid is all about – helping keep people plugged into their power supplies.”
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