Balfour Beatty has completed the transformative engineering works to the former London Olympic stadium into the new home of West Ham United FC.
The works began in January 2014 on behalf of the London Legacy Development Corporation. What was then a £154m contract increased as £36m of additional money was called for as the scope of works increased.
The first offical home game at the multi-purpose venue will be played against Bournemouth on 21 August.
Practical changes and works that were completed during the conversion included the installation of the world’s heaviest anti-gravity roof which is twice the size of the original, as well as reintegrating lighting towers within the stadium.
Sustainable measures included the reuse of more than 6,000m of cable, 3,800 lights and 1,000 mechanical and electrical components as well as the use of 19,000 tonnes of recycled demolition material.
At its peak, the project employed more than 1,700 people on site, culminating in 3.4 million man hours worked.
Stephen Tarr, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s Major Projects business, said: “We have utilised some of the most complex engineering techniques on this project, capitalising on our in-house capabilities and expertise to ensure the project was delivered safely to a high specification whilst boosting the local economy through employment opportunities – it’s a project we are all immensely proud of.”
