The Anonymous Widower

Crossrail And The Super Sewer

The two large tunneling projects in London at the moment are Crossrail and the Thames Tideway Tunnel or Super Sewer.

They both require long tunnels and will cost billions of pounds each.

But the public seem to have different attitudes to the two projects.

Nearly everybody seems to support Crossrail, whereas there is substantial opposition to the sewer.

I did ask a friend, if there had been any opposition to Crossrail and he said, there was a bit in the early days from places like Mayfair. People seemed to have been worried about dust and noise during the construction phase. But now everybody just gets on with life and hopes that Crossrail will be finished and walking and driving will get back to normal.

To be fair to Crossrail, they seem to have gone out of their way with green walls to minimise noise, using the river to carry tunnel spoil and being a good neighbour as at Stepney City Farm. They have also launched a well-funded and publicised archaeology program.

On the other hand, the Super Sewer, doesn’t seem to have done the same to allay the fears of a public, who don’t want  all the problems of construction and the increase in water bills.

I do wonder, whether the difference is down to the fact that a new railway is something people can use and feel gives them tangible benefits, but a sewer, is something that they only use a few times every day and don’t want to think about. And it looks to me, that Thames Water have not done a good enough job to sell the benefits of the new sewer to the general public.

May 31, 2013 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel, World | Construction, Crossrail, Public Relations, Thames Tideway Tunnel, Water