Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore

In the western section of our cofferdam, a dry working area built into the river, we are constructing a 53m deep shaft which will transport the intercepted sewage overflows to our new tunnel, which is currently being built underneath the River Thames. We have excavated the shaft to 25m, where we have paused excavation as we wait for Ursula, our eastbound tunnel boring machine launched from our Kirtling Street site in Battersea, to pass directly underneath this area. 

In the eastern section of our cofferdam, we constructed a 3,700 tonne concrete culvert, which will intercept sewage and redirect it towards the new super sewer. Once the culvert was in full shape, we carefully flooded this section of the cofferdam and removed three of the piles that lined the cofferdam, opening the pathway for the team to float the culvert into its final position. 

The culvert was floated 100m into place below Blackfriars bridge in two movements. The initial movement took the culvert around 10m out of the cofferdam. The second movement - connecting into the existing sewer outfall - had to be made at night when sewage flows were minimal. 

Piling Works

We will re-drain the cofferdam to allow us to install a number of metal sheet piles into the riverbed within the eastern section of our cofferdam. These piles will secure the ground and allow us to safely excavate into the riverbed so that we can construct the remaining culvert structure in-situ. The piles will be installed
initially using a vibro hammer, however, it may be necessary to utilise an impact hammer to secure the pile in the riverbed.

Piling is expected to commence in the week of Monday, 5th October 2020 and is expected to take approximately three weeks to complete. 

If you have any questions about this or our site at Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore please get in touch with our helpdesk on 08000 30 80 80 or [email protected]

What are our working hours?

Standard Working Hours

08:00 - 18:00 Monday - Friday

08:00 - 13:00 Saturday

There is a one hour mobilisation period before and after Standard Working Hours, plus maintenance periods on Saturday 1-5pm and Sundays 10am-4pm.

Our most recent resident's drop-in meeting was hosted on 20 August 2020. 

If you'd like to join our next community meeting, please get in touch via email at [email protected]. Due to current restrictions, all of our community meetings are currently being hosted online. 

• All static machinery and plant is screened or enclosed
• The excavated material handling area has been enclosed
• Vehicle movements are strictly limited to set times and coordinated to ensure that no lorries queue outside of the site
• Footpath diversions are clearly signposted
• Hoarding has been erected on the site boundaries
• Wherever possible, push (silent) piling has been used during the construction of Millennium Pier 

There are lots of ways to find out what’s happening at this site, you can:

• Call our 24 hour Tideway Helpdesk 08000 30 80 80 or email [email protected]
• Take a moment to read the latest updates on the noticeboards on our hoardings.
• Email our dedicated Community Relations teams available to answer your questions or meet with you, via [email protected]
• Join our regular Community Liaison Working Group meetings, to attend the meetings or receive the minutes and presentations from past meetings, email [email protected]. 

You can also track our progress and what we're doing in our local communities on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook