Prescott Lock progresses towards Olympic construction

Completion is expected in time to accept freight barges for the main Olympic construction period, starting towards the end of this year.The £19million contract, commissioned by British Waterways, involves the construction of a lock 6m deep, 8m wide and 70m long. There will be five weirs, both adjustable and fixed, a fish-pass and a control building, with the mechanical and electrical fit out also in the scope of works which will restore the Bow Back Rivers, reviving water transport in the area for the first time in 50 years.

By earlier this year Volker Stevin had already excavated some 26,000 tons of soil, used 5,000 tons of sheet pile and 21,000 linear metres of reinforcement bar for the infrastructure of just one pair of the lock gates.

The first 8m wide, 21 ton fishbelly gate was installed in the East weir by a 180 ton crane in April. Following the installation of rubber sealing and the hydraulic system, Volker Stevin removed the cofferdam before preparing the West weir for the same process. Installed along with the East weir gate was the first of two pairs of sector gates, which will eventually control navigable access to the Olympic waterways. The curved gates form a segment 6m tall and 4.5m in radius. They were assembled in the lock using pre-fabricated sections.

Work to this point had been undertaken whilst maintaining the tidal flow of the river. Installation of the fishbelly gates allows water levels to be controlled upstream, opening up water frontage works within the Olympic Park.

The lock and weir structures will keep the river water at one level, which will ensure the rivers running through the Olympic Park are navigable. This will enable the delivery of construction materials to the site by sustainable means, helping to achieve the Olympic Delivery Authority’s aspiration for the first sustainable Olympic Games, with 50% of construction materials transported by sustainable means. The lock will accommodate two 350 ton barges.

As well as making the Bow Back Rivers navigable again for freight traffic, the restored rivers will also play an important role in the legacy with new moorings for leisure boats, water taxis and restaurant boats, plus towpaths connecting communities and providing opportunities for cycling, walking and fishing.

The Prescott Lock project will also help to enable the regeneration of London’s East End by opening the waterways to serve as a ‘green gateway’ catalyst for future development, which is likely to involve 30,000 new houses and some 12m sq/ft of commercial development.

The Prescott Channel project is funded by the Olympic Delivery Authority, London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, Transport for London, Department for Transport and British Waterways.