Work to create a brand new electrical infrastructure beneath the Olympic Park hit a major milestone this week as the cabling phase of work was completed in the powerlines tunnels beneath the Park.

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Chief Executive David Higgins visited the powerlines site in the Olympic Park to congratulate workers on this latest achievement which keeps the project firmly on track to switch the power for the Olympic Park underground later this year.

Two six kilometre tunnels have been dug beneath the Olympic Park enabling the power needed for the Games and the legacy communities after 2012 to be carried underground and the overhead powerlines which run across 52 pylons through the Park to be removed. The tunnels were finished on time last year, marking the first Olympic Park construction project to be completed.

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200km of electrical cables has now been installed in the tunnels – enough to stretch from London to Nottingham – along with monitoring and ventilation equipment, and more than 9,000 brackets to carry cabling along the tunnel walls.

The project now moves out of the cabling phase with the testing and commissioning of the cables taking place ahead of the power being switched over into the underground tunnels later in the summer. Once the power is switched underground, work to remove the powerlines and pylons across the Olympic Park will start towards the end of the year.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: "With construction work set to begin in the Olympic Park later this month, the delivery of the powerlines project is vital in 'unlocking' the site for the large-scale development of world class venues and infrastructure. The completion of the cabling stage in the tunnels is a significant achievement and keeps us firmly on track to deliver a brand new electrical infrastructure beneath the Olympic Park."

(JM)