Steel in the News
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Posted by Tasha Weiss on August 3, 2012 at 10:32 AM.
Newly constructed for this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, the 137-ft-long, 18-ft-wide, all-steel Bridge Lo1 in London’s new Olympic Park serves as a vital link for pedestrians heading to and from the Northern Spectator Transport Mall. Photo: Atkins
Built on a Brownfield site ripe for rehabilitation, the new Olympic Park on London’s northeast side is sporting a whole new infrastructure this summer. Millions of visitors are expected between last weekend and early September for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and 23 new bridges are among the facilities helping them make their way into and around Olympic Park. One particularly interesting and unusual bridge, known as Lo1 or the Ruckholt Road Bridge, combines the mechanics of a tied arch with Vierendeel girder construction to provide a highly efficient structure with a light and airy look.
Bridge L01 is the primary northern gateway to the Olympic Park. Elegant in both appearance and concept, it provides a pedestrian and cycling link from parking in the Northern Spectator Transport Mall, which also is a key access point for coaches, taxis and disabled visitors.
The design architect, London-based Allies and Morrison, and structural engineer Atkins, also based in London, used a sophisticated iterative design process to create a highly efficient structure with slender arch members.
Construction of the bridge began in May of 2010 and was completed this past March. The 137-ft-long, 18-ft-wide steel structure was fabricated in Wales. Shipped in several pieces, it was welded together on-site prior to being lifted into place. One of Europe’s largest cranes was brought in for the lift, which occurred in November 2010. (Click on the photo for an enlarged view. Photo: Atkins)
You can read more about the Bridge Lo1 project in the August issue of MSC (available now!), in the “What’s Cool in Steel” section. In this section you’ll also find another cool Olympic steel structure: The ArcelorMittal Orbit, which was featured in last month’s Steel Structure Trivia post on our website, here.
