Chiswick Park Footbridge Begins to Take Shape

Two giant spans craned into place over the weekend

Two of the spans for the new 135m footbridge that will link Chiswick Business Park with Chiswick Park tube station were put in place this Monday 4 June by a giant crane. This represents an important step forward in the project with the bridge expected to open to the public in December 2018.

The work to lift the spans into position started on Saturday and was completed in the early hours of Monday. The two connecting spans of bridge, weighing approximately 140 tons each, were lifted into place over the railway by a 1,500 ton crawler crane, built on-site last week and were positioned onto the four giant 8 ton V-shaped steel legs.

The remaining work includes the building of the third span which will take place next month and is expected to be installed in October. This will be followed by finalising the installation with electricity, lights, landscaping and completion of the bridge entrances between October and December this year.

The bridge will provide direct access to the northern end of the Estate, between Buildings 7 and 8, from Chiswick Park Underground Station and improve the Estate’s connectivity with the restaurants and bars of Chiswick High Road.

‘It’s great to see the new bridge coming together. We are pleased that this delicate operation went smoothly, keeping the construction on schedule. Our guests are really excited about the bridge. It will be the latest addition to Chiswick Park and will bring our campus even closer to the local community’, said Matt Coulson, CEO Chiswick Park Enjoy-Work.

Once opened, it is hoped the footbridge will also ease congestion at Gunnersbury tube station and make the daily commute of over 9,000 workers on the park easier.

Construction work began last year after an agreement was signed between Chiswick Park, the London Borough of Hounslow, the London Borough of Ealing, Network Rail and Transport for London.

Artist's impression of completed bridge

June 4, 2018