Mayor of London opens Barking viaduct and station

Serving up to 10,000 new homes, the new Barking Riverside station has been opened by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

The construction of this vital transport link included a 1.5km-long viaduct and a new railway line, as well as well as modifying and realigning existing operational infrastructure.

A 400m-long section of the viaduct consists of a steel structure supported on concrete piers. This nine-span section forms the northern end of the viaduct and carries the new railway line over a number of existing assets.

Transport for London’s (TfL) Head of Programme James Barrow said: “Steelwork was chosen for the northern end of the viaduct as it was the only material that could efficiently create the longer spans, up to 42m-long, needed to pass over rail, road and river obstacles.”

As well as creating the required long spans, the use of steel allowed the project team to minimise disruption to these infrastructure assets. Less time and equipment was needed to erect the steel part of the viaduct, as prefabricated girders were brought to site, ready to be erected during a series of weekend possessions.

Working on behalf of the Morgan Sindall/VolkerFitzpatrick joint venture, Severfield erected 3,500t of steelwork for the project.