East London skyline transformed as £250m project to move cables underground finishes

The last pylon has been removed from the Olympic park, completing a two-year, £250m project to move electricity cables on the site into new tunnels.

David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), described the removal of the final overhead electricity pylon as a “symbolic moment”, transforming the skyline of east London “for good”.

He added that the construction project had created “new jobs for local people and business opportunities for a range of companies”.

The power lines project was started by the London Development Agency in 2005 ahead of the successful UK bid to host the 2012 Games, and comprised three phases: tunnelling, cabling, and then pylon removal.

Two 6km tunnels were built beneath the Olympic park and 200km of cabling installed inside them - enough to stretch from London to Nottingham. In total, 52 overhead pylons were removed, comprising 1,300 tonnes of steel, all of which will be recycled.

Work to remove pylons on the outskirts of the Olympic park will be completed in early 2009.

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