Contractor MGM Construction has reinforced pillars in a Newcastle car park to protect it from heavier electric vehicles.
The firm carried out the work on 10 pillars inside the six-level Times Square multi-storey car park for client Centre for Life. This is to future-proof it against EVs, some of which can weigh up to 600kg more than petrol or diesel cars.
The existing pillars were wrapped with steel collars and triple-strength concrete was poured in during tightly controlled 45-minute windows to allow the car park to remain open.
MGM Construction managing director Phil Burridge said the extra weight of EVs puts undue stress on a car park’s existing concrete pillars.
He said: “When car parks were built decades ago, such heavy vehicles didn’t exist and the logic was always that cars would get lighter, not heavier.”
Centre for Life chief operating officer Claire Adams added: “This investment supports our strategic direction by helping to future-proof an important city-centre asset in a responsible and sustainable way.”
