Carillion completes lift of 650tn roof truss over Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium
Milestone reached in redevelopment plan for famous football stadium in the UK
Carillion, the UK-based contractor, has lifted a 650-tonne roof truss into position over the Main Stand at Liverpool Football Club’s famous Anfield Stadium.
The erection of the roof truss is part of a stadium redevelopment project that will see an additional 8,500 seats added, increasing the capacity of the Main Stand to more than 20,000 and overall capacity to 54,000.
In a statement released by the club, it was revealed that the lift was performed by two of the UK’s largest cranes: the AK680 and the AK912, by Sarens and ALE respectively. The 252-foot high cranes were operated by a specialist team onsite.
Once the 140 metre long truss was raised into place, it was secured by an expert team of workers from Carillion, the football club’s construction partner. The contractor said that work on the project was delayed for a day by high winds in the area, which exceeded the nine metres per second work limit in the UK.
However, it said that work had been completed satisfactorily on July 24 following months of detailed planning.
“This is a historic milestone in Anfield’s history as the stadium transformation continues to take shape,” said Ian Ayre, chief executive officer of Liverpool FC, in a report by the UK-based Construction Enquirer. “We embarked on this significant expansion project just seven months ago and lifting the Main Stand’s new truss marks another incredible chapter in the club’s history.”
With the 20m-high truss now in place, work can get underway on constructing the Main Stand’s new roof, Carillion said. The site’s cranes will be used to lift and secure into place steel roof rafters, it added.
The redevelopment of Anfield Stadium was announced in December 2014 and the Main Stand expansion project remains on track for completion during the 2016/2017 Barclays Premier League Season.
Once completed, the Main Stand will be one of the largest all-seater single stands in Europe’s top divisions. It will comprise of three tiers, with the existing lower tier featuring a widened player tunnel, new team benches, a media platform and wheelchair viewing positions, the Liverpool Echo said.
The newspaper added that more than 5,000 cubic metres of concrete had been used at Anfield so far – enough to fill two Olympic swimming pools.
