Bespoke Noise Control Solution for Crossrail Fisher Street

Project Overview

London and the South East’s new rail network Crossrail is one of the UK’s most substantial infrastructure projects. The aim of this project is to reduce city congestion, improve journey times, improve connections to key employment, leisure and business districts, support the regeneration of London’s boroughs and increase the value of London’s property market.

Challenge

The immense scale of Crossrail’s construction undertaking meant that London residents and businesses were almost definitely going to be subjected to potential health risks. The most obvious hazard was noise, with large machinery being used both day and night.

Solution

A solution had to be found ahead of any work starting, to ensure that the health risk was minimised. So Crossrail devised and publicised a noise mitigation procedure, to provide assurance that the health of Londoner’s was a priority and effective solutions would be put in place.

The Fisher Street site, in London’s Holborn, close to the British Museum and London’s West End, has a Crossrail access shaft where large diesel powered concrete pumps, including a concrete remix unit, were in use.

The problem for Crossrail on this particular site, was finding a noise control solution large enough to protect the health of site personnel and the general public nearby.

RVT Group assessed the site and Crossrail’s requirement for a 20dB reduction at 10m, and came up with the following solution:

• Create a bespoke structure around the concrete pumps
• Clad three sides with a twin layer of C2/3 Soundex Professional Acoustic Curtains
• Erect a single layer of the C2/3 Soundex Professional Acoustic Curtains to the roof
• Create a bespoke panel to cover the front top half above the gantry crane
• Place a set of four acoustic sliding panels to the lower section

“In dealing with RVT, we have used their services for Dust/Noise suppression. The team at RVT offers comprehensive and flexible solutions to ensure that all personnel are adequately protected. A current testament to the quality of service they supply is the pouring enclosure located at the Fisher Street CRL site; the sound attenuation and protection for the operation is exemplary with this in place.” - Raymond Moloney, Site Agent