The distinctive ‘barrel’ shape of what will become the iconic roof of Everton’s new stadium is visible for the first time on three sides as the west stand steelwork connects to the previously installed north and south stand roofs.
Steel sections that form the roof curvature at Everton Stadium are now complete on top of the west stand and the result can be viewed by dramatic aerial shots released by the club. These barrel sections support the upper-level terracing of the bowl, providing lateral restraint and spreading the permanent load into the main structure.
They will also support a series of cantilevering trusses, each up to 60m long, which will be assembled pitchside at ground level and support the steel canopy that extends and spans over the top of the seating. The whole installation process will be repeated in the east stand, where the initial barrel sections will start soon, before three tiers of perforated steel cladding will be added to complete the exterior.
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A temporary staircase has already been installed to the roof in north stand to allow roofers to commence the permanent roof coverings.
Meanwhile, the four tower cranes that dominated the skyline at Everton Stadium for almost a year have now been dismantled as the build enters the next phase. The giant cranes, ranging from 55m – 70m high, were erected in June of 2022 as the stadium build ramped up.
Working independently and in tandem, they played a pivotal role in the speed of the development by facilitating the building of the two predominantly concrete-based east and west stands. With wide-reaching spans that allowed them to cover the whole of the stadium site, they were used to lift the precast concrete and steelwork into place much quicker than using the crawler cranes that assisted in building the initial four corners.
Gareth McNary, Lifting Operations Leader with Laing O’Rourke, said: “The crawler cranes are the workhorses, but when you start picking up speed on site, the real progression comes from the tower cranes. It’s all down to the prior planning.
“We have a close relationship with the temporary works co-ordinator. That’s the important element and things have gone absolutely as well as we could have hoped.
“It’s not every day you get the chance to build a Premier League stadium from scratch, so to be on the project from the start and see it progress so quickly is just something special.”
The crane drivers had the best seats in the house as Everton’s future 52,888 capacity home which they are scheduled to move into during the 2024/25 season took shape, with the internal bowl now complete at upper levels.
Along with the roof installations, work is now taking place to make the stadium watertight, as the internal fit-out gathers pace. Over 30,000 linear metres of Mastik – a specialised silicon sealant – are being applied to all the terracing joints throughout the bowl.
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