News Archive
Olympic construction strategy cuts road traffic
Released on 29/04/2009
London’s Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) claims it is exceeding its targets for making construction deliveries to the site by sustainable means.
The target set out in the Sustainable Development Strategy published in 2007 stated that 50 per cent of materials (by weight) would be transported by rail or water, and the ODA says it is achieving 57 per cent of deliveries by rail alone.
The Olympic Park will also soon be using old waterways to transport materials. Dredging of the local waterways is starting within the next month and after Prescott Lock opens early this summer, 350-tonne barges will have access into the site.
The rail freight facilities in the Olympic Park carries thousands of tonnes of aggregate for concrete and fill material on a daily basis. The Bow East Logistics Centre can also handle multi-modal product shipments like sand, steel, cable reels, pallets and containers.
David Higgins, Chief Executive of the ODA said: “By switching road deliveries to rail, we have significantly reduced traffic and pollution on the roads around the Olympic Park. We are not complacent about the challenges that lie ahead and we are aware of the increased difficulty in maintaining this record as construction ramps up and the number of deliveries increases. We are however confident that we are moving in the right direction, and have got off to a great start.”
The ODA now has three logistics centres which channel thousands of daily deliveries to the site. In addition to deliveries by rail and water, the ODA has established two off-site logistics centres to screen and process vehicles, allocating them a time to make their deliveries.
