Brett delivering concrete solutions for Crossrail

Independent quarry firm supplies 110,000 concrete tunnel segments for Crossrail’s eastern tunnels

BRETT Concrete are playing an important role in Europe’s biggest construction project, Crossrail, which is set to revolutionize travel in London.

The 42km of tunnels currently being built beneath the capital call for 250,000 concrete tunnel segments, 110,000 of which have been supplied by Brett Concrete’s bespoke plant in Chatham Dockyard.

The concrete for these tunnel segments is made to a very high-strength specification using sand from a Brett Aggregates quarry near Ipswich which is transported by barge to the manufacturing facility in Chatham.

From here, the finished tunnel segments make their way to the entrance to Crossrail’s eastern tunnels at Canning Town, again by barge.

‘We are delighted to be involved in such a prestigious contract,’ said Chris Chapman, managing director of Brett Concrete. ‘It’s testament to the capabilities of an independent supplier that we secured the order.’

Once completed in 2018, Crossrail will pass through 40 stations and run all the way from Reading to Heathrow and then underground to Shenfield and Abbey Wood to the east of London.

Each train will carry twice as many passengers as at present, bringing an additional 1.5 million people within a 45-minute commute of London’s key business districts.

The project promises to deliver £42 billion worth of benefits to the UK economy.