Concourse steelwork installation begins at Brent Cross
The new station at Brent Cross has entered its next phase of construction, as VolkerFitzpatrick begins to install the steelwork needed to build the station’s concourse.
The new station, being built on the Midland Main Line and Thameslink Routes, and positioned between the existing Hendon and Cricklewood stations, is the first major new mainline station in London, in over a decade.
The team has now moved onto the station’s concourse construction, following the successful installation of the second part of the new overbridge, earlier this month. Once opened in 2022, the new overbridge will provide public access, over this part of the Midland Main Line, for the first time since it was built, 150 years ago.
On Saturday 28 August, under a 72 hour possession, VolkerFitzpatrick began lifting in the concourse’s main floor beams, along with the upper and lower columns and roof beams. All of which are needed to construct the concourse, with the biggest beams reaching 13.5m in length, and weighing up to three tonnes each.
Throughout September, the team will continue to install the remaining steelwork - before casting the concourse’s concrete floor. The team will then begin installing lift shafts and escalators, creating step free access throughout the station for passengers.
Commenting on the installation, Gordon Hunt, project manager, said: “The start of the concourse construction, and bridging the mainline for the first time, is a major milestone for the project, and the success of this recent blockade shows the continued efforts made by all involved.
“This phase of the project is crucial, and has already seen the team install gridlines one through to five, which were needed for the installation of half permanent formwork panels for the concourse slab. Now installed, the team can start to construct the first section of the concourse slab, which - similar to the overbridge - will provide work access from the east to west platforms, across the mainline, for the first time since this part of the network was built, 150 years ago.”
Work to build the station’s eastern entrance is also well underway. Once complete, the ambitious, yet visually stunning entrance, which has sustainability and environmental innovations at the heart of its design, will feature a roof canopy of glazed panels resting on timber glulam columns, vines connected to ground floor planters by a wire trellis system, and ornamental trees in the entranceway.
