Member Article

Raising the roof at Manchester Victoria Station

National construction experts Morgan Sindall have installed the first of 15 curved steel ribs for the ultra-modern new roof at Manchester Victoria Station.

The project is part of a £44 million investment by Network Rail to create a modern station environment while retaining the building’s Grade II listed features.

Over the last few weeks, the steel ribs have been constructed using locally fabricated steelwork which was delivered on site in 24 metre sections and welded together to form single sections up to 96 metres long and each weighing a staggering 70 tonnes.

The team used a goliath-sized 1,200 tonne crane, of which only one of its type is available in the UK at any one time, to lift two of the 1.2 metre deep and 0.5 metre wide ribs over a city tram route and onto 18 metre high columns and 4 metre high buttresses.

Nick Fletcher, managing director of civil engineering at Morgan Sindall, said: “We are delighted to be working with Network Rail on this prestigious scheme to enhance the historic station structure and improve passengers’ journeys.

“Morgan Sindall has a wealth of experience in the rail sector, including recent station renewal works at Euston in London, Haymarket in Edinburgh and Liverpool’s underground stations, all of which will help us to ensure a successful end result here.”

The overall project at Manchester Victoria station also includes the installation of a new mezzanine access deck plus a ticket barrier, concourse flooring and external doors.

Sections of the existing Victorian building will also be refurbished, including an ornate Victorian stained glass dome over the current bar area and three war memorials within the station, which will be sympathetically restored.

The new roof structure itself has been designed to allow natural daylight to flood into the station through the use of lightweight, transparent ETFE – the material used at Piccadilly station in London, the Eden Project in Cornwall and the swimming pool built for the Beijing Olympics, known as the Water Cube.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .