Cyclists who won the chance to cycle through a new super sewer, under the streets of London. February 10, 2023. Lucky cyclists have braved the depths of London to ride from Battersea to Blackfriars inside a 4.5km super sewer. See SWNS story SWNAtunnel. The tunnel is between 40 to 50 metres underground, making it twice as deep as the deepest tube lines in London. The construction of the sewer began in 2016 and is set to be completed in 2025.

When finished, the super sewer will remove 95 per cent of around 40 million tonnes of raw, untreated sewage that currently spills into the river Thames every year. The new system will provide a cleaner environment for wildlife and recreational river users. Employees working on the project at Tideway London were offered the opportunity to buy raffle tickets to win the chance to take their bikes down into the depths. In total, 360 raffle tickets were bought, raising £1535 for charity.

The lucky group made their descent underground in Battersea on 10 February.

The keen cyclists got the experience underneath the capital as part of a charity fundraiser before the sewer becomes operational.

The 2.8 mile sewer began construction in 2016 and is due to be completed in 2025. When finished, it will remove 95% of around 40 million tonnes of raw sewage that currently spills into the River Thames every year.

It sits between 40 metres and 50 metres under the surface, making it deeper than any of the tube lines in the capital.
When finished, the super sewer will remove 95 per cent of around 40 million tonnes of raw, untreated sewage that currently spills into the river Thames every year.

Employees working on the project at Tideway London were offered the opportunity to buy raffle tickets to win the chance to take their bikes down into the depths, raising £1,535 in total for charity.

The lucky winners made their descent at Battersea then cycled uphill through the sewer – whose deepest point hits 66m below ground level – to Blackfriars and back.

Taylor Geall, media relations manager at Tideway London, said: "The event went really well and everyone had a really good time. It’s a once in a lifetime experience."

The tunnel, which is budgeted at £4.4bn, is being paid for by Thames Water customers, who pay between £20 and £25 each year for the project.

Geall said: "There has been a desire for many years to clean up the river.

"The sewer system in London is 150 years old and is miraculously still in a really good condition but it just can’t cope with the modern day population of London.

"A lot of analysis was done in the 90s to find out what the best solution would be and this super sewer was chosen as the quickest most cost effective way of cleaning up the Thames."

The money raised by the raffle will go to Time & Talents, a community centre in London, and the Felix Project, which saves surplus food and distributes it to charities that help those in need.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/cyclists-travel-london-new-super-sewer-underground-170718133.html

On 13/02/2023 04:46 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Fairy-cyclists who won the chance to cycle through a new super sewer, under the streets of London. February 10, 2023. Lucky fairy-cyclists have braved the depths of London to ride from Battersea to Blackfriars inside a 4.5km super sewer.

That, at last, is good news.

As we can all readily agree, it is exactly where the average
fairy-cyclist firmly belongs.

> https://uk.news.yahoo.com/cyclists-travel-london-new-super-sewer-underground-170718133.html

The cyclists can stop and crap to their hearts content in the sewer,
sparing all those lovely village greens from their bowel incontinence.

....@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

> Cyclists who won the chance to cycle through a new super sewer, under the
> streets of London.

> https://uk.news.yahoo.com/cyclists-travel-london-new-super-sewer-underground-170718133.html

--
Spike

On 13/02/2023 05:46 pm, Spike wrote:
>
> The cyclists can stop and crap to their hearts content in the sewer,
> sparing all those lovely village greens from their bowel incontinence.

+1.

> ...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Cyclists who won the chance to cycle through a new super sewer, under the
>> streets of London.
>
>> https://uk.news.yahoo.com/cyclists-travel-london-new-super-sewer-underground-170718133.html
>
>
>
>

We had a similar scheme when a new Hydrogen pipeline was opened that went underneath the Humber from Saltend to Immingham - great fun! :-)

On 13/02/2023 06:03 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> We had a similar scheme when a new Hydrogen pipeline was opened that went underneath the Humber from Saltend to Immingham - great fun! :-)

Fairy-cyclists in sewers... the new idea for the twenty-first century...

....but one that should have been thought of sooner.

Construction of a 5km tunnel underneath the River Humber, described as an extraordinary feat of civil engineering, is complete.

National Grid and its specialist contractors have delivered the pipeline to support the UK gas network, with the embedded structure stretching from Paull in East Yorkshire to Goxhill in North Lincolnshire, 30m underground.

Completion was celebrated with Hull businessman Graham Boanas being given an exclusive walkthrough, at the same time making history.

In 2005, the 6ft 9in businessman walked across the estuary, battling mud flats and strong currents to conquer one of the UK's most dangerous stretches of water.

A year later, Graham crossed the river for a second time - this time, underwater. He also featured on BBC's Top Gear, when he raced presenter James May across the Humber.

To date, Graham has raised £160,000 for charity, having walked across at low tide and swam, as well as used the bridge.

He has now walked underneath the River Humber as part of the opening of the new gas pipeline tunnel.

Graham said: “I’m thrilled that National Grid’s River Humber pipeline project has given me this once in a lifetime experience.

"It’s fantastic that I’ve had the opportunity to experience the otherworldly environment of the tunnel, walking through it side by side with the team that built it.

“I now must also hold the world record for the number of ways I have crossed the Humber. I’ve crawled and waded across it at low tide, swam through the high tide in a special suit and walked over the Humber Bridge, but walking beneath the Humber through the tunnel was by far the most unique experience.

"I’d like to thank everybody involved from National Grid and its partners who made this experience possible for me - it’s been absolutely fantastic.”

He was granted the opportunity ahead of the tunnel being completely flooded with water prior to pipe insertion.
The new 5km-long tunnel under the River Humber will carry a vital pipeline which can provide up to a quarter of Britain’s gas supplies.

Steve Ellison, lead project manager on National Grid’s River Humber Pipeline project, said: “We’re really pleased that Graham could come and join the project team to celebrate the great engineering feat of building the first tunnel underneath the Humber.

"This is transformational engineering at its best and we’re really pleased that we’re able to celebrate this with such a brilliant event.

“In spring 2020, we’ll push our 5km gas pipeline through the tunnel. This will be a world record breaking event, with our project being the longest hydraulically inserted gas pipeline in the world.

"On completion, we will have a vital pipeline which can provide up to a quarter of Britain’s gas supplies.”

As reported, in September ‘Mary’ the tunnel boring machine completed its 18-month journey through the bed of the Humber.

The work, which will be finished by the end of 2020, will help ensure reliable and resilient energy supplies in the years ahead to North Lincolnshire, East Yorkshire and the rest of the UK, replacing a trench-laid pipe which had become exposed.

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/new-tunnel-underneath-river-humber-3735679