Surface Tension: Mitigation

Surface Tension – a London 2050 Event

Break-out session:

Mitigation Chair:

Gareth Epps, Community Relations Policy Manager, Crossrail

Panel:

William Filmer-Sankey, Partner, Conservation, Alan Baxter Associates Jay Carver, Managing Director, 4AD Consultants and Crossrail Project Archaeologist Bob Bennett, Crossrail Project Manager, LB Tower Hamlets

Alan Baxter INTEGRATED DESIGN

William Filmer-Sankey Partner, Conservation

Farringdon pedestrian footfall forecast TUBE

THAMESLINK

CROSSRAIL

22,000 passing through (morning peak)

44,000 passing through (morning peak)

56,700 passing through (morning peak)

Exiting

10,146

17,300 Exiting

16,554 Exiting

Exiting

8,284

22,916 Exiting

Managing and realising the value of archaeological finds on major projects Author: Jay Carver, Project Archaeologist Crossrail

Turkey: Archaeology Holds Up Construction of Tunnel under the Bosphorus

“The project is currently four years behind schedule, largely due to the discovery of a Byzantine-era archaeological find on the proposed site of the European tunnel terminal in 2005�

Construction Stumbles upon Invaluable Archaeology Site The construction of the second metro line in the Bulgarian capital Sofia has been stopped over the discovery of a unique archaeology site.

Rome's Third Metro Line Delayed

By Archaeological Discoveries

Again

“Ongoing digs are likely to delay the metro line for many years�.

Photo by Superindency of Archaeological Heritage of Rome.

Integrating archaeology with construction Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning 1990 The Design Manual for Roads & Bridges (DMRB) 1992 DMRB Trunk Roads and Archaeological Mitigation 1995/2001/rev 3 expected..2014 CIRIA Environmental good practice on site guide 1999,2005,2010 rev 4 expected 2015 CEEQUAL was launched in 2003 CIRIA “Archaeology and development - a good practice guide to managing risk and maximising benefit” 2008 CEEQUAL Rev 4 2008 – Historic Environment topic

Success factors Understanding the resource Quantifying the resource – early intervention Clarity in Contract Requirements Allocating risk Integrating with schedule Critical Programme Path Effective Communication Public relations Sustainability objectives

Main contractors design

Site access constraints

12/15/2014

13

12/15/2014

14

Late design change

Stakeholder engagement Crossrail examples objectives Historic environment Historic environment objectives Redistribution of railway heritage Recycle, reuse, donate materials,Sustainability assets toand architectural pieces enhance historic environment Collaborate with public, universities,andJoint research and teaching project with schools – share knowledge – share Birkbeck University, London Education research Investment projects – events, digs, talks, Crowd -source online event to document local skill development New Cemetery burial records, 2 community Community digs planned Good neighbours, support and developCharterhouse Hospital Trust new heritage local resources centre content; SS Robin historic ship Stakeholders restoration; public exhibitions Dissemination, digital, tv,audio and printOnline project archive in place – to be media, access to archives public access in due course Media

Conclusions Recognise the complexity of multiple interfaces Allocate risk appropriately Put the right words in the right contract Archaeologists need to quantify expected finds in a language that produces the right results Properly integrate investigations into the programme Rapid response to changes is required…put the right processes in place Develop strong internal and external profile 17

Surface Tension: Mitigation ‘Crossrail: Lessons Learned’ – Case Study 3

Community Liaison: Crossrail Whitechapel Station Bob Bennett Crossrail Project Manager, LB Tower Hamlets Future of London: Surface Tension, Nov 24th, 2014

The Challenge

Construction of Whitechapel Station in LB Tower Hamlets among most challenging, requiring: •

Total rebuild of existing station while busy Overground, Hammersmith & City and District Line are running

•

Construction of new sub-surface Crossrail station with 2 ventilation and emergency shafts in Durward St and Cambridge Heath

•

Linking of the stations via tunnels and escalators

•

Whitechapel station design changed radically from that proposed in the Bill, leading to environmental impacts not predicted in the Crossrail Act Environmental Statement

A complex and congested site

Severe Constraints •

Large Sainsbury’s that needed to stay open throughout works

•

Residential: Albion Yard, a listed ex-brewery with basements atop Crossrail station works; Kempton Court, ‘80s apartment block with deep piles, surrounded by construction sites and atop Crossrail station works; Trinity Hall, Victorian 4-storey adjoined on 3 sides by construction sites

•

Swanlea secondary, with large glass atrium, atop Crossrail station works

•

Restricted lorry access through congested residential streets which also provide the school’s main pedestrian access

•

Whitechapel Sports Centre, to which the only vehicle and pedestrian access is along the designated lorry route serving two of the major construction sites

•

Whitechapel Street Market and associated traders’ parking

Compulsory Purchase Orders Crossrail had to take possession of various sites involving further enabling and mitigation works: • • • • •

Sainsbury’s car park and petrol station Albion Yard resident car park Part of Swanlea School playground, access, caretaker’s house Whitechapel Sports Centre car park Part of Kempton Court car park

Despite publicity, Sainsbury’s did not engage before Crossrail Act came into effect - discussions did not start until CPO notices. Neither Albion Yard nor Trinity Hall residents were aware of Crossrail proposals, and did not petition.

Major stakeholders At various stages, 6 contractors on site, each with own Section 61 applications and community relations staff. Led to difficulties in identifying contractor responsible for resident or business complaints, and in resolving them.

•

Borough set up fortnightly Crossrail/council officer meetings with construction updates and opportunity to discuss/resolve problems

•

Community Liaison Panel sub-panels set up for Albion Yard, Kempton Court, Trinity Hall; monthly meetings attended by Crossrail project managers. Residents updated on future works, particularly those involving noisy activity

Sainsbury’s threatened to close; unacceptable to council and would not have been popular with local people.

•

Following 3-way negotiation, planning permission granted for a replacement 2-storey car park and other supermarket alterations funded by Crossrail

Major stakeholders Sainsbury’s threatened to close; unacceptable to council and would not have been popular with local people. •

Following 3-way negotiation, planning permission granted for a replacement 2-storey car park and other supermarket alterations funded by Crossrail

Noise Delays in installing noise insulation, esp. listed Albion Yard. Lack of agreement on monitoring led to uncertainty on insulation eligibility. Unpredicted vibration from 24-hour sprayed concrete lining (SCL) works caused severe amenity impacts in some Albion Yard flats.

•

Meetings between council, Crossrail and experts on noise impact, mitigation

•

Hotel stays provided when noisy night work predicted, and/or at short notice

•

Following council representations and considering lack of base data, Crossrail installed noise insulation where impact/eligibility uncertain

In some cases, noisy works have been undertaken for operational reasons without advance notice or hotel stays, generating many complaints.

•

Written protocol developed clarifying that these decisions were to be made by project directors rather than operational managers

Construction Constricted construction sites meant plant and equipment near homes, with many complaints to Crossrail helpdesk, council etc. •

Crossrail adopted innovative BPM construction techniques and practices to minimise community impacts. These included: o telescopic excavators to remove shaft spoil more quietly o re-engineering of Durward St shaft to minimise steelwork o hydro-demolition to minimise ground-borne vibration o restricting noisy SCL works to daytime o real-time noise monitoring, transmitted to project managers and council EHOs o relocating offices off-site

Flexible compensation Land outside CPO required at Kempton Court for tower cranes •

Freeholder and car-park lessee compensation; donations to residents’ management fund for disturbance and amenity loss

Albion Yard car park acquisition led to loss of service access, refuse storage etc.

•

Small, secure car park with refuse storage, bike parking, space for service vehicles provided on construction site

Sports Centre lost emergency fire exits which had opened onto CPO’d car park •

Without formal requirement, Crossrail had an alternative fire exit route built, opening onto an area away from construction

Working with Swanlea secondary school Settlement impacts predicted to cause cracking of glass, plasterwork and possibly structural damage.

•

Underpinning of part of school and substitution of atrium glass with polycarbonate carried out in school holidays

•

Other works timed to avoid noise interfering with GCSE exams

•

Agreement re. school opening and closing times, when construction traffic banned

•

Difficulties of installing noise insulation in a school with large south-facing windows; purpose-made ventilation units installed to build-up of solar heat

avoid

Construction traffic Main lorry route planned to run between school and Kempton Court, across main pedestrian access to the market, past Sainsbury’s, to merge with construction traffic. Dangerous for pedestrians, likely to cause congestion, and disturbing to homes on the route.

•

Revised Schedule 7 applications approved for alternative routes with traffic management arrangements, e.g.

– part of main route (Durward Street) incorporated into construction site and managed accordingly – 2-way lorry routes implemented to avoid pedestrian conflict

Area traffic Parking of market traders’ vans obstructed some main lorry routes •

Council agreed with Crossrail to relocate some parking areas

Unforeseen utility diversions required total closure of Vallance Road for 6 months plus part – then full – closure of Cambridge Heath Road. Project involved numerous road closures, diversions and other measures while strengthening or replacing water, gas or sewer mains traversing Crossrail tunnels.

•

Vallance Road traffic and buses diverted without serious problems; to offset loss of passing trade, Crossrail provided extra signage and worked to improve visibility

•

Cambridge Heath Road full road closure was required after vehicles and cyclists didn’t comply with part-closure

Conclusions: Flexibility is key

LB Tower Hamlets recognised the extreme engineering difficulties in constructing Whitechapel Crossrail station and the likely impact on local residents and businesses, but considered that these impacts would be outweighed by long-term economic and transport benefits.

The council also recognised that Crossrail and contractors adopted innovative engineering solutions to mitigate impacts. Crossrail has also shown flexibility in adopting mitigation measures not specified in the Crossrail Act.

Conclusions: Three key lessons •

Expect the unexpected, e.g. utilities diversions, vibration impacts from SCL – when these events occur and problems must be solved, flexibility required of council, Crossrail, contractors and community

•

Good communication is essential – many difficulties arising at Whitechapel resulted from poor communication with residents, caused in part by poor communication between contractors, Crossrail and community representatives

•

Local authorities need a ‘single point of contact’ to take important decisions on their behalf, without excessive delay

Thank you!

Whitechapel Station, September 2013

Bob Bennett – bobbennettok@gmail.com