Skanska has been given the go-ahead by Railtrack on a £3 million contract to design and value engineer a new 500-metre steel viaduct at Borough Market, west of London Bridge station, aimed at easing train congestion and increasing the flow of trains through the station.
Skanska is also preferred bidder for the construction of the viaduct should the Thameslink 2000 TWA proposal be given the go-ahead later this year by the Secretary of State.
The new viaduct, which will complement the existing viaduct over Borough Market, will eliminate the bottleneck which currently requires all Thameslink and Charing Cross train services to share the same tracks. In the future, each of these services will have dedicated tracks, allowing for improved reliability and punctuality.
Skanska is working in partnership with Railtrack to develop the scheme from initial concept stage through to producing a detailed design and cost plan, and identifying suppliers for the work packages. It is the first part of a two-stage design and build contract which will be worth in the region of £50m.
In addition to the viaduct construction, the overall Borough Viaduct scheme involves extensive reinstatement and refurbishment work to surrounding buildings in the vicinity of Borough Market. One highlight of this proposed project will be the lifting of a 1,500-tonne, 70-metre rail bridge into position over Borough High Street.