Bridges, short and long term solutions for the London 2012 Games

Major regeneration and redevelopment in East London is being undertaken in preparation for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Olympic Park is physically constrained by numerous rivers and railways generating a requirement for 33 bridges which were designed for both Games and Legacy and early construction for logistics use prior to the Games.

Best value sustainable bridge design solutions have been developed to complement the surroundings of the Park. This paper discusses the constraints and how the bridge designs were addressed. Fig. 1 shows the Park in March 2011 with several of the new bridges adjacent to the Olympic Stadium.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) [1], formed to deliver the venue for the Games, acted as client for these works.