RMD Kwikform trusses used at New Street Station

Coleman and Company needed to demolish and remove two floors of mezzanine car parking above twelve working platforms for the project, also known as the New Street Gateway Project for Network Rail.

Coleman and Company is removing 7,500 tonnes of concrete to create more space and a higher ceiling for what wil be the new passenger concourse and ticket hall area.

The floor below is the only thing between the demolition and twelve active platforms of Birmingham New Street, leaving no room for error.

Sections of concrete above the floor needed to be removed from the building without causing too much noise, dust and vibration.

This had to be done without loading the floor, which is only designed to take the weight of vehicles.

The strength of the main beams needed to be used to take the weight of the concrete being removed.

A modular system was required that could be adjusted to use these strong points.

As the beams were not in a uniform lattice structure, a flexible option was the most suitable solution.

RMD Kwikform and Coleman and Company engineers designed a modular truss system created from RMD Kwikform’s Megashor heavy duty shoring and Superslim steel soldier components.

The truss system was used to support the landing of the beam sections, some of which weighed 90 tonnes, and then safely transport the sections off site.

This was achieved by a gantry crane that was supported from the beams above the floor being removed.

Sections could then be removed using wire cutting and diamond saw techniques.

The Megashor and Superslim soldier elements of the trusses were designed to lengthen and shorten, enabling the trusses to be used between the varied positions of the strong points in the floor.