Bechtel engineer Linda Miller met recently with Tom Edwards of BBC News London and took him on a tour of the Connaught Tunnel, a piece of London Underground history that is about to be recycled as part of a complex effort to deliver a new rail line under the City of London known as Crossrail.
Watch the BBC interview video here.
The Connaught Tunnel is a 600-meter tunnel in East London that runs underneath the Victoria and Albert Dock. It was built in 1878 to transport passengers and goods from nearby docks, and originally became known as the North Woolwich line. It was last used in 2006.
Work has begun to renovate and reuse the tunnel so that tracks and electricity supply can be installed. The works are due to be completed in 2014 at a total cost of £50 million. Headed up by Linda Miller, Bechtel project manager for the Connaught Tunnel, the works will preserve the transport heritage of London and form an essential part of the central section of Crossrail, which will link London to commuter areas east and west of the city.
Dubbed "Super Tube," Crossrail will give some 1.5 million new riders easy access to the City of London, Canary Wharf, the West End, and Heathrow Airport. The system is scheduled to open in 2018.
