The BMB JV (Bam Nuttall/Morgan Sindall/Balfour Beatty) has taken delivery of a huge stainless steel vortex system at the site of the Thames Tideway pumping station in Hammersmith, London.
The steel vortex system and a single piece of pipe large enough to house an entire Tube train carriage, will help to handle around two million tonnes of sewage overflows that currently run into the Thames from the station annually.
Tideway will divert the flows into a new 25km super sewer under construction below the river. At Hammersmith, the flows will need to drop down a 15m shaft. Falling that distance, the flows would wear away the bottom of the shaft but the 28t vortex generator will ‘spin’ the flows down the pipe, removing the energy and preserving the base.
The 21m-long, 65t pipe section of the system, which will be installed into the shaft vertically, has had over 1,000 stainless steel studs welded onto its outer wall that will slot into place when installed.
Both of these enormous structures were manufactured by a specialist firm in Cumbria, and made the 326-mile journey to London late last month following a six-month build.
Hammersmith section manager John Corcoran said: “A huge amount of work went into producing and moving these two mammoth pieces of equipment and it is a fantastic achievement for the Tideway project to take delivery of them on site.
“I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved as well as to our neighbours who live in the vicinity of the worksite at Hammersmith Pumping Station, whose patience while this vital equipment was delivered is very much appreciated.”
