Crossrail making the earth move - with barges

By John Hill on September 30, 2009 10:33 AM |

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Crossrail has pledged to move five million tonnes of earth via the river during its construction process.

The soil - which will be excavated during work on the £16billion London rail link - will be used in landscaping projects such as a 1,500-acre nature reserve at Essex's Wallasea Island.

Crossrail signed a memorandum of understanding with the Port of London Authority this week confirming its commitment to moving the earth by barges and ships. That volume of soil would require half a million lorry journeys on land.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Moving five million tonnes of earth excavated from the centre of London requires a solution of Herculean proportions.

"Using the barges rather than the roads is a supremely brilliant plan and it brings joy to my heart to see them make their way up and down the Thames."

A total of 7.3million square metres of material will be excavated as part of the construction process. It is expected that 85 per cent of this will be moved via rail or water.

Crossrail chairman Rob Holden said: "All construction projects by their nature will result in some degree of disruption but it is critically important that the impact on central London is kept to a minimum while Crossrail's construction is underway.

"The Mayor and Central Government have been very clear that we must do all that we can to limit Crossrail's impact in terms of lorry movements."