Barges are now removing tunnelling spoil via Deptford Creek as tunnel boring machine (TBM) Annie begins work on a connection tunnel between Greenwich and Bermondsey.

Annie’s is the last TBM drive to get underway on the Tideway project and will link Greenwich Pumping Station with the main super sewer via Chambers Wharf.

And for the first time, as you can see from the video below, barges are now leaving the site loaded with spoil.

Tideway has pioneered a river logistics strategy that sees the vast majority of tunnelling spoil removed from sites by barge – instead of by road.

This approach has profoundly positive impacts not just on congestion and road safety, but also on air quality.

And at Greenwich Pumping Station, this is no different. Tideway’s use of the river will reduce the number of lorries needed on site by around 26 – each week.

TBM Annie has already passed Tideway’s site in Deptford and is heading toward Earl Pumping Station – the last Tideway site before she reaches Chambers Wharf in Bermondsey.

While it has not been possible to remove all excavated spoil using barges on the Thames at Greenwich, like it has been at other sites, Tideway is committed to moving as much as it can on the river.