Contractors World - UK Developments Supplement
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Balfour Beatty chooses SGB Mastclimbers for access to UK’s largest super-pylon

Access specialist, SGB has erected a 120 m high mast climbing work platform through the centre of the tallest electricity pylon in the UK, enabling the Electricity Alliance East, an Alliance between National Grid and Balfour Beatty, to carry out essential electrical and structural maintenance work.

Owned by the National Grid, the pylon carries the powerlines for the Thames Crossing at West Thurrock, Essex.

The Electricity Alliance approached SGB to design a safe method of delivering operatives, their tools and materials to a work platform located two-thirds of the way up the 193 m high structure.

The exceptional height of the pylon, coupled with its exposed riverside location, ruled out the use of external steps as a safe access method. High winds and the height of the tower meant that it was too dangerous to take materials up the external steps on the pylon, so SGB designed a suitable access system for the inside of the tower so that workers and equipment could be manoeuvred up to the work platform in safety.

Space within the tower is restricted, especially near the top where it narrows to just 5 m x 5 m. SGB therefore proposed a single mastclimber with a small platform that could travel up through the narrowing space to the platform.

To support the 120 m high slender lattice mast, SGB designed a special tie to take the weight and transfer the load safely to the pylon. “Our design engineers calculated that we would need to use an unusually large number of ties to ensure the rigidity of the mast” explains SGB contracts supervisor Simon Hickson. “We therefore designed a bespoke tie with 38 connection holes”.

Harsco

London ‘Milestone’ Renovated

A ten-month project to repair and restore the 145 year-old Eleanor Cross on the forecourt of Charing Cross station has been completed, safeguarding the historic landmark for future generations, and it is traditionally the road distance all measurements from London to other parts of the United Kingdom are measured.

The condition of the Eleanor Cross, the original of which historically marked the centre of London, had been in deterioration over the years as weather and pollution took their toll on the stone monument. Owing to its vulnerable condition, it was placed on the English Heritage At Risk Register in 2008, so a plan of action could be identified.

The restoration work started in October 2009, although scaffolding has been set up around the monument for almost five years for inspection and safety purposes. The first phase was to clean the entire monument using a combination of steam and a fine spray of water to remove dirt and debris without damaging the stone. Once the monument was clean, a detailed inspection was carried out to plan the restoration work.

Repairs to the eight-sided structure were carried out by specialist stone contractors PAYE Stonework & Restoration. They included recreating and attaching almost 100 missing ornamental features including heraldic shields, an angel, pinnacles, crockets and finials; securing weak or fractured masonry with stainless steel pins and rods and re-attaching decorative items which had previously been removed after becoming loose.

The restoration was a complex piece of work. Owing to the age, condition and intricacy of the monument, much of the work had to be carried out using hand tools.

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