City of London appoints Dyer & Butler for tunnel strengthening works alongside Museum of London development

Dyer & Butler has been appointed by The City of London Corporation to deliver strengthening works to the Snowhill tunnel (rail) lids that run directly under Smithfield Market. The work is being undertaken alongside the £337m development of the new Museum of London site at West Smithfield.

The Museum of London, currently at London Wall in east London, is moving to West Smithfield, a conservation area in central London, where it will take over the currently derelict market buildings at the western end of Smithfield.

As part of the new museum scheme, the old General Market and the current Poultry Market are being refurbished and the existing road between the two buildings, West Poultry Avenue, is being enclosed to become part of the scheme and unify the two buildings.

Dyer & Butler, a multi-disciplined engineering services specialist focused on essential infrastructure including airports, railways and highways, will deliver the programme of works for the tunnel lids upgrade that will include;

• Extensive temporary works to support the market building whilst the foundations are transferred to the new tunnel lids
• Reduction of the depth of structure to form the new museum structural deck
• Removal of overburden upon the existing tunnel lid jack arches
• PCC structures
• Dismantling of historic façade
• Installation of strengthening steelwork and steelwork design in the tunnel vaults as enabling works for Network Rail’s installation of new Road Rail Access Points (RRAP)
• Highways improvements
• Waterproofing

With self-delivery capabilities, (own labour, in-house design management, training and possession planning, etc.) Dyer & Butler’s specialist rail division delivers essential rail infrastructure services under framework and stand-alone contracts, from maintenance through to major capital projects.

The Museum of London opened in 1976 at its current London Wall site and tells the ever-changing story of London and its people, from 450,000 BC to the present day. Its galleries, exhibitions, displays and activities seek to inspire a passion for London and provide a sense of the vibrancy that makes the city such a unique place.  It has a collection of over seven million objects and the largest archaeological archive in the world, all of which strive to connect people with the lived experience of London.

The new site will have the capacity to welcome over two million visitors a year and has been designed by London-based architectural practices Stanton Williams and Asif Khan working with Julian Harrap, a firm which specialises in the redevelopment of historic buildings.