U-turn fears over Heneghan Peng's post-Olympics bridge transformation
The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has rejected claims Heneghan Peng’s brightly-coloured Central Park Bridge could remain in ‘games mode’ following the Olympics
However, a senior source revealed that, due to continued high use of the key route to the Olympic Stadium, the original plans to convert the 54m-wide competition-winning scheme into a more slender structure had been abandoned.
An insider said the bridge could be retained in its current form until the end of the 2017 World Athletic Championships – at the very earliest.
The design features a unique Z-shaped structure beneath a multicoloured deck so it can be reconfigured into two stainless steel-clad footbridges after the global event.
An LLDC spokesperson insisted the bridge would be transformed post-games ‘in line with the architect’s original design and 2008 planning approval’.
‘This work will include the removal of the temporary Games-time bridge decks and the addition of permanent bridge parapets to the remaining legacy bridge structure.’