Slow Boat To Bow

British Waterways announced this week the go-ahead for a new lock and water control structure on Prescott Channel in Bow to Service the Olympic Park

The lock is funded by British Waterways, the Department for Transport, London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and Transport for London and will enable large river barges to access the area by water, helping to take hundreds of lorry journeys a week from local roads and save thousands of tonnes of CO2.

The new structure is part of an £18.9m project that comprises twin water control gates and a 62m x 8m tidal lock, providing access for 350-tonne barges. The lock will open up the waterways in the area and help the ODA meet its aspiration to transport 50% of construction materials by sustainable means. In the longer term, it will provide access for barges carrying construction traffic and recyclables between Stratford and the Thames, and create new opportunities for leisure boats, water taxis, trip boats and floating restaurants.

Construction of the new lock will begin in March with a Team managed by British Waterways and which includes Volker Stevin Ltd, Tony Gee & Partners LLP, Bennett Associates, Clague Architects and Weetwood Environmental Engineering.

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London said of the scheme "I am committed to ensuring that the 2012 London Games are the greenest games ever and deliver a social, environmental and economic legacy long after they are over. The plans for this new lock are another example of the many concrete steps we are already taking to deliver on these commitments. This exciting project will shift construction traffic from lorry to barge, reducing carbon emissions and traffic congestion, but will also provide a lasting legacy helping the regeneration of East London.”