The work to clear the 42,000m2 site for the Victoria Road crossover box near Old Oak Common station in west London took six months and saw 98% of material reused or recycled.
The huge underground structure has been designed to allow trains passing through the London tunnels to switch tracks.
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The clearance of the site overseen by the enabling works contractor, a Costain Skanska joint venture (CSjv), involved the demolition of eight separate buildings.
More than 6,500 cubic meters of rubble from the clearance of the old warehouses and light industrial units was processed on site and will be reused during construction of the tunnels and crossover box.
The team will now move on to clearing hardstanding, completing utilities diversions and collecting geological data that will feed into the detailed design of the crossover box.
HS2’s programme director, Matthew Botelle said: “The Victoria Road Crossover Box will be a vital part of the underground infrastructure that will make Old Oak Common one of the best connected stations anywhere in the UK.
“It’s great to see so much progress and I’d like to thank the team for all their hard work over the past six months.”
CSjv programme director, Peter Jones said: “I am proud of the Costain and Skanska joint venture team, which has worked together to achieve this significant milestone for HS2. Our work continues apace across London, with the Ibis hotel and NTH Insull wing near Euston now almost complete and the University College London building on Hampstead Road expected to be finished within weeks.”
The underground crossover box is being designed and will be built for HS2 by a Costain/Skanska/STRABAG joint venture (SCS Railways). The 130m long box will be 25m underground, with three headhouses at ground level to provide maintenance and emergency access as well as a separate ancillary shaft.
During construction, the caterpillar-shaped crossover box will also be used to launch two of the four tunnel boring machines digging the tunnels from Old Oak Common to Ruislip on the edge of London.
