London 25km ‘Super Sewer’ now complete
Known formally as the Thames Tideway Tunnel, London’s ‘Super Sewer’ has now been completed.
The final lid which was lifted into place recently, comes eight years since building began and 12 years after initial investigations.
Tideway, the company behind the build, built the full 25km, 7.2m-wide main tunnel, a 4.5km connection tunnel in south-east London, and a 1.1km tunnel in south-west London.
Designed to reduce sewage pollution in the central London River Thames, it is now connected to the existing network.
The entire system will be brought online with individual combined sewage overflows being connected to the new tunnel over the coming months alongside commissioning and testing.
It is expected to be fully operational in 2025, with the infrastructure aiming to reduce spills.
UK Young Engineer & UK Young Technologist of the Year announced
This year’s Big Bang Competition has awarded several students with coveted awards. Year 12 Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern School student, Pacha Pritchard from Cardiff, was awarded the UK Young Engineer of the Year for her portable pollution monitor designed to test air quality in schools and residential areas. It features emojis (happy and unhappy faces) to show if the pollution is good or bad.
The Big Bang UK Young Technologists of the Year was won by Liverpool’s The Blue Coat School Year 12 students, Archit Chinnari, Ayush Shah, Benedict Dooley, Ciaran Scanlan, Rakesh Vaddepalli and William Dan, for their solar panels project. The winning design uses an app to automate the panels, creating 16% more energy over a year than static models.
Behind the scenes of the Tyne Bridge restoration
Work to restore the iconic Tyne Bridge to its former glory is underway with the appointed contractor, Esh Construction, working on the 900 steelwork repairs that are required to preserve the Grade II listed structure for future generations.
The full £32m programme of works to the Tyne Bridge includes steelwork repairs, grit blasting and re-painting, concrete repairs, drainage improvements, stonework and masonry repairs, and bridge joint replacement. To carry out the work, the Tyne Bridge, which is used by up to 70,000 vehicles a day, has been reduced to one lane in each direction. These are expected to be in place for a minimum of two years as the iconic structure is fully restored.
Funded by the UK government, as well as Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council, the four-year programme is expected to be complete in Summer 2028, ahead of the bridge’s centenary in October 2028.
Skye Reinforcement Project first phase awarded
Balfour Beatty has been awarded the first phase of the £690m Skye 132kV reinforcement project for Scottish and Southern Electricity Network (SSEN) Transmission. On completion, the project will ensure the supply of secure, clean electricity to thousands of homes and businesses across the Hebrides and West Highlands.
The detailed design and development phase, valued at £32m, will see Balfour Beatty provide technical solutions for a new 137km, 132kV double circuit overhead line between the existing Fort Augustus and Edinbane substations, as well as new sealing end compounds to link the overhead line to the underground electricity network, ultimately joining the Isle of Skye and Western Isles to mainland Scotland. While the main construction work for the Isle of Skye Reinforcement Project is expected to begin in early 2025.
Collaborative effort seeks to transform undergraduate education for net zero objectives
The built and natural environment think tank The Edge, in collaboration with industry, academia, and professional engineering institutions, is advocating for changes in engineering education to promote a sustainable future. Originating from a workshop, the 28 signatories, including the Engineering Council, discussed education transformation: “It needs to teach climate and environmental literacy and ethics and develop the ability in students to collaborate, communicate, challenge and advocate.”
In brief: Following the CEO transition plan announced by Bentley Systems, Nicholas Cumins has taken charge as its CEO. He succeeds Greg Bentley, the eldest of the five brothers who founded Bentley Systems, who has become the executive chair of its board of directors.
Hexagon has acquired Voyansi, an AECO focused provider of BIM and VDC solutions, reality capture services and BIM workflow software development.
Driver Trett and Diales have been consolidated into the one brand of Diales. It hopes it will better serve its clients by combining their resources across the world.
Construction has begun on Line 3 of the Sevilla metro. Once complete, the 7.6km line will connect the northern suburbs to metro Line 1, as well as central tram routes within the city, with 12 stations – one above-ground, and 11 underground. An initial 1.7km section was awarded to a consortium led by OHLA for €95.7m.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced its 2024 Award of Excellence winners from more than 100 AEC industry projects across the globe. Categories include Best Tall Building, and Urban Habitat. Overall winners will be announced at the CTBUH 2024 International Conference on 23-27 September in London and Paris following judging. View the winners: https://tinyurl.com/58pb2a7e.
Fugro has been awarded a site characterisation contract for a wind farm development off the coast of the Japanese cities of Murakami and Tainai in the Niigata Prefecture. The offshore wind farm will be developed and realised by a consortium of RWE, Mitsui & Co., and Osaka Gas, with Fugro’s geo-data contributing to the design of future turbine foundations and cable routes.
Plans have been approved to redevelop the Tavern and Allen stands at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. The £61.8m project delivered by Gardiner & Theobald, Wilkinson Eyre Architects, John Graham Construction, and Arcadis would increase the overall ground capacity by an additional 1,100 seats to around 32,280 seats. It is due to start in September and be completed in 2027.