Wolverhampton has brought in another new modern way of constructing classic buildings with new construction machines.
Since its glory at the height of the industrial revolution, Wolverhampton, like many other provincial towns and cities in the UK, has had to endure more than its fair share of industrial collapse.
The city on the outskirts of the Black Country has a long history as a center of excellence for automobiles and engineering, but in recent years it has fought to fend off the impacts of recession and industrial decline. All is not lost, though. The area is attempting to reestablish itself as a significant industrial and commercial center in the wake of a wave of investments. The Wolverhampton Interchange, a £150 million reconstruction of the east side of the city center centered on the train station, is leading this revitalization.
Modern offices and commercial projects will serve to create an up-to-date gateway to the city, as well as a link to some of Wolverhampton‘s charming canalside neighborhoods. Bus, rail, and metro lines will be combined into one central transit hub.
The city’s bus station has already undergone renovations thanks to developers, and the newly constructed i10 building offers much-needed high-end, energy-efficient office space right outside the train station. Presently, Galliford Try is engaged in an undertaking that aims to guarantee that the station structure mirrors the revitalization of the city center.
Under the direction of project manager Jim Rowley, the contractor is working to finish and open the new station by October of this year.
He acknowledges that the project has been difficult at every turn. “It has been extremely difficult to work on the partial demolition and reconstruction of a railway station without negatively affecting its day-to-day use, both during the design process and once on site.”
The majority of the platforms at Wolverhampton Railway Station service the West Coast Main Line (WCML), which is situated on the Birmingham loop. The WCML platforms and platform number six, which runs daily local trains on the Wolverhampton-to-Shrewsbury route, are positioned between the station buildings.
The majority of the current station’s demolition will take place in the second phase. The structure will have two stories, with office space on the upper stories and a new ground-floor passenger concourse that will serve as an entrance, a ticket center, and commercial space.
Probably 25% of phase one is demolition, and 75% is new construction. Those percentages are flipped in phase two, according to Rowley.
