Silicon Roundabout – 29th August 2021
I went back this morning to see what was happening.
I took these pictures walking around the South-Eastern side of the roundabout.
Note.
- I left the station though Subway 1 (North East exit), crossed over Old Street at the lights and then walked to Moorgate station.
- Most of the work I could see, seemed to be concerned with resurfacing the road surface.
- The advertising screen seems to be stuck on Hamilton. Is that an omen for Lewis at Spa or is the play sponsoring the works?
There certainly seems a lot to do before Tuesday morning. Let’s hope the weather holds.
Silicon Roundabout – 28th August 2021
The big push started today to open the new entrance to Old Street Station in Cowper Street.
According to this page on the TfL web site, which is entitled, Old Street Roundabout, these changes will happen on the 31st August 2021.
- The new entrance at Cowper Street will open and will provide direct access for customers to the station.
- Subway 1 (northeast exit) will be permanently closed. Subway 3 (southwest exit) will remain open
- The staircase at Subway 4 (northwest exit), will re-open and the ramp at Subway 4 will permanently close. The green line leading to Moorfields Eye Hospital will be reinstated along the stairs
I took these pictures from a 21 bus, this morning.
Note.
- The first four pictures show the North-West exit, which is Subway 4.
- The sides of the steps at Subway 4 seem just to need application ofsurface finish and handrails.
- In the last picture, it looks like the contractors are getting ready to resurface the South-East corner.
I also took this picture of the Cowper Street entrance yesterday.
The entrance looks to be not far from finished behind the hoarding.
If I get a chance, I’ll go back and have a look sometime in the weekend.
Silicon Roundabout – 18th August 2021
It’s been some time, since I took pictures of the progress of the remodelling of Silicon Roundabout and Old Street station.
I took these pictures this morning.
It seems to have moved on since I took the last pictures in Silicon Roundabout – 10th April 2021.
This page on the Transport for London web site, is now saying this about changes to station access.
New and permanent changes to station access at Old Street will be in place from 31 August 2021.
-
- The new entrance at Cowper Street will open and will provide direct access for customers to the station.
- Subway 1 (northeast exit) will be permanently closed. Subway 3 (southwest exit) will remain open.
- The staircase at Subway 4 (northwest exit), will re-open and the ramp at Subway 4 will permanently close. The green line leading to Moorfields Eye Hospital will be reinstated along the stairs.
That sounds like the end of Phase 1 to me!
Silicon Roundabout – 10th April 2021
This time the images were taken going from home to Moorgate.
There doesn’t seem to have been much progress since I wrote Silicon Roundabout – 8th March 2021.
If you compare what still exists of the old station and the visualisations of the new, there still appears to be a lot of old concrete to remove, like the big curved structure in the middle, which is shown in the last picture.
Silicon Roundabout – 8th March 2021
I took these pictures from the top deck of a 21 bus going North from Moorgate to home.
Note.
- Pictures 3 and 4 show a large hole, which is probably for the main station entrance.
- Picture 5 shows how the ramp is being modified to be stairs to create the North-East entrance by the Shoreditch Grind.
- See Silicon Roundabout – 6th January 2021 for an earlier pass through on the same route.
This visualisation from TfL, shows the main entrance with the North-East entrance and the lift behind,
Note.
- The lift tower with the tree behind it.
- If the Shoreditch Grind was shown, I think it would be partly behind the lift tower.
- The stairs for the North East entrance to the right of the lift with the totem indicating the station.
I suspect that given that the station needs to be kept open during the works, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the North-East entrance and the lift open before the main entrance.
I also think, that the Cowper Street entrance on the other side of Old Street roundabout will open before the main entrance for the same reason.
Digging The Central Entrance To Old Street Station – 27th February 2021
This map from Transport for London shows the future layout of Old Street Roundabout.
Note the new entrance to the station in the middle of the roundabout.
The contractors are now digging a big hole for the central entrance, with a digger in an unusual turquoise colour.
Note.
- The central and the two other entrances will be steps.
- There will also be a lift, close to the Shoreditch Grind, in the North-West area.
- There will also be a service lift for the shops in the station.
- Particular attention has been given to the use of natural light.
- The central entrance features a green roof.
Some won’t like the design, but I think, its simplicity like some of London’s 1930s Underground stations will endear it to the majority of passengers.
Cowper Street Entrance To Old Street Station – 21st February 2021
These pictures show the start of the works to create the new Cowper Street entrance to Old Street station.
Note the large frame, which had been delivered the previous day.
This map from Transport for London shows the future layout.
The Cowper Street entrance will be in the South-East corner of the roundabout. The map says it will have stepped-access only.
This TfL image is a visualisation of the entrance.
I wonder if it should be step-free with a lift, as walking across to the lift in the centre, could be some way in bad weather.
From Silicon Roundabout To Bank – 4th February 2021
I was on top of a 21 bus, as I took these series of pictures.
Silicon Roundabout
Note.
- My bus Crossed from North to South down the East side of the roundabout.
- Work is now concentrating on creating the new road and pedestrian layout in the North-West corner of the roundabout.
- There will be a lift for passengers in this corner.
This map from Transport for London shows the future layout.
Note the Shoreditch Grind coffee house on the map.
20 Ropemaker Street
This will be a twenty-seven storey tower.
Moorgate Station
The road was blocked off yesterday, when I went earlier to Marks and Spencer. It still was when I took these pictures.
This screen-capture from a Crossrail video shows a possible future Moorgate.
Note the new buildings at 101 Moorgate and the current Moorgate station.There appears to be a gap, so will the station entrance be set back behind a small pedestrian area?
From Moorgate To Bank
The last two pictures show the works at Bank station.
Silicon Roundabout – 6th January 2021
I took these pictures from the top deck of a 21 bus going North from Moorgate to home.
Note.
Silicon Roundabout – 18th January 2021
I took these pictures in two sets on buses as they navigated the roundabout after the North-East corner was opened and the North-West corner was closed at the weekend.
On A 21 Bus Going South To North
Note.
- I was on the lower deck.
- It was about ten in the morning.
- The bus went to the East side of the station.
The bus was just a big red taxi.
On A 243 Bus Going West
Note.
- I was on the upper deck.
- It was about two in the afternoon.
- The bus went to the South side of the station.
The bus was just another big red taxi.
On Foot
Note.
- You can’t turn right out of Mallow Street.
- The contractors had already started to dig up the North-West corner.
- The traffic seemed to be running reasonably freely.
The whole project is supposed to be completed in Autumn 2022.
This map from Transport for London shows the future layout.
The current status of the four sides of the roundabout are.
- North-East – In Use – Two-way
- North-West – Closed
- South-West – In Use – Two-way
- South-East – In Use – Two-way
Note.
- At least the South-East side is substantially finished, with more space for vehicles.
- The South-West entrance to the station is still open for passengers.
The new road layout appears to be finished. Although, there is still a lot of pavements and road surfacing to complete.
The Anonymous Widower 