Everton Stadium target date explained as project…

Everton Stadium target date explained as project reaches 'really big milestone'

The first of the steel roof trusses at Everton Stadium has gone up with the target for them to all be in place by Easter next year. Work has begun to hoist the 15 pre-assembled sections of steel, each weighing around 100 tonnes, into place atop the north and south stands of Everton’s future 52,888 capacity home.

Weather permitting, the second lift will take place next week on the south stand, mirroring the initial installation in the north. Construction partners Laing O’Rourke have been planning the roof truss operation for two years, and this has been critical to work progressing on schedule.

Principal Engineer Steven Farden said: “The first lift was executed really well on the day. It was probably only an eight-hour operation from start to finish, but when we talk about the amount of planning and resource that went into that, the team planning and management and coordinating all that around a live construction site, it was a really complex operation.

“What you can see on that first lift is one third of one truss, and in total on the north stand there are two full trusses and three on the south stand, so that is one of 15 mega lifts.

“At some point, round about Easter of next year, we will see all five trusses up in the air and then we will start infilling everything around them. Once we have de-rigged and the roof has settled, the roofing team come along and start putting the roof on to keep everyone dry in the final scheme.”

The transformation of the development at Bramley-Moore Dock has been breath-taking, with the first roof truss installed just six months after the first steel super-column was bolted into the north stand foundations.

Farden said: “This is a really big milestone. It was only in May we were talking about the first bit of steel going on site, and now six months later we are talking about the first roof steel.

“It’s just one of many great milestones, but the significance of this is it takes us from a stadium job into a roofing job and the stadium itself, and the stands where people are going to watch the great football, will start to become an internal fit-out job.”

He added: “It’s a great project to be a part of. We are delivering a world class stadium with a great team and a good client.

“This stadium is going to set this part of Liverpool alight. It’s a great looking stadium from high or low level and when you look at where we are going to be in a year’s time, it’s going to be great for the club.”

The one caveat to the installation programme at Everton Stadium, which has been named as one of the venues in the UK and Ireland's preliminary bid to host the European Championships in 2028, remains the unknown of the winter weather, especially on a challenging site on the banks of the River Mersey.

Farden said: “The environmental conditions is one of the biggest hazards that we’ve got. We are really exposed and when you think of heavy lifting operations you have to consider this.

“The wind is really important with something the size of a roof truss, which is akin to a big kite on the end of a big crane. If the wind were to catch that, the crane may be able to withstand the loads, but we have people manhandling it with the tag lines and they would be fighting an impossible task.

“We need to have really low wind speeds and great weather conditions for a period of about 24 hours, 12 hours before we start lifting and 12 hours after, so that we know we have the prime opportunity to lift something that big.”

READ MORE:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here