TfL celebrates project collaboration and completion of Hammersmith Flyover refurbishment works

Work on the Hammersmith Flyover, to upgrade the central reservation and strengthen the structure, is now substantially complete. Strengthening the flyover will prolong its life and mean no major maintenance will be required for many years.

On 4 September 2015 the project delivery teams gathered at TfL to celebrate completion of this challenging infrastructure project: Ramboll, Costain, Parsons Brinckerhoff and specialist post tensioning sub-contractor Freyssinet. To mark the occasion TfL launched a short film acknowledging the highly collaborative process that was established between all stakeholders.

In the film Matthew Sercombe, Head of Tunnels & Structures – Surface Transport TfL, says:

“One of the things that has been really different about the Hammersmith Flyover project is the fact that it has required such deep collaboration all the way through the process. So, if you walked in to the Hammersmith office at any time you wouldn’t know who worked for which organisation. There is clearly no division, and this was hugely necessary to deliver this kind of scale of complexity in the amount of time that we’ve had.”

Believed to be the first time full new prestress has been installed in a bridge where it was not possible to remove the original, this unique project has challenged the application of design codes and has the potential to change the way we think about future refurbishment of similar concrete structures. The bulk of the design has been by Ramboll, including the retro-fitting of a prestress post-tensioning system.

Built in 1961, the Hammersmith Flyover carries the four-lane A4 arterial road over the Hammersmith gyratory and links the west to central London. Strengthening the flyover will prolong its life and mean no major maintenance will be required for many years. The work forms part of TfL’s Road Modernisation Plan consisting of hundreds of projects to transform junctions, bridges, tunnels and pedestrian areas. It is the biggest investment in London's roads for a generation.

To see the details of the Road Modernisation Plan visit tfl.gov.uk/roads