First Of The Three Thames Cable Car Towers Completed

The construction of London Thames Cable Car, named “Emirates Air Line” after the sponsor, Dubai-based Airline Emirates, began last August. It is being constructed by Mace. Now one of the three steel towers of the London Thames Cable Car has been completed. Though it is the shortest of the three, it rises to a height more than 60m. The other two towers will be 90m height each. Hence the cable line will be in a dome shape, providing the passenger with spectacular views of the Olympic stadium. The cable will provide an awesome view at 200 ft above the river.

#-Link-Snipped-#
An Architectural Rendered Image. Image Courtesy: Greenwich.co.uk

The open spiral design allows the tower to look lighter than it actually is. The tower which will be functional before the Olympics start, looks like the Olympic torch itself. The cable car will have a car crossing every 30 seconds and thus will be able to carry  2,500 passengers in an hour in one particular direction.

Weighing 270 tonnes, the smallest of the three towers was completed within days since the steel pieces' arrival at the site from the Watson’s Bolton fabrication yard. Each tower is made using 6,500 steel pieces and also each tower using a 30 tonne steel block.

#-Link-Snipped-#
The Completed Tower. Image Courtesy: theconstructionindex.co.uk

Project director Matt Randall #-Link-Snipped-# "All credit goes to the project team which has been working round the clock seven days a week for the month of December to achieve this important milestone."

The other two towers will be completed by spring. No official date of opening for the Emirates Air Line has been declared. But it is expected that the cable car service would be open in time for the London Olympics this year.