November 14 - A project to temporarily relocate the Battersea Power Station's iconic cranes to the UK Port of Tilbury by barge is almost complete with only one barge movement remaining.
The London Construction Link project, which is a collaboration between Tilbury and construction specialists Walsh, seeks to relieve congestion on the UK capital's roads through promoting greater use of the river Thames for construction projects on or near the river.
The two listed cranes located on the riverside jetty at the power station have been dismantled, and are being transported to Tilbury for storage prior to restoration. The cranes will then be returned to the jetty and reinstated by the latter half of 2017, in time for the opening of the power station and new riverside park in 2019.
Perry Glading, chief operating officer at Forth Ports, owners of Port of Tilbury said: "As we've demonstrated at Battersea Power Station, the river is a viable solution for moving large structures out, as well as construction materials in to projects on or near the Thames."
He added: "Through the greater use of the river and construction consolidation, the London Construction Link has the potential to make large inroads into the effort to remove lorry movements from the capital's roads."
The Battersea cranes are believed to have been installed in the 1950s and were decommissioned in 1983. In the thirty years during which they have stood dormant, they have structurally deteriorated and now require urgent restoration.
