HS2 coming to Kensal Green
Posted: 2nd December 2024
Since the Government gave the go ahead for HS2 to progress from Old Oak Common to Euston, strange markers have appeared in the ground in the Cemetery. Workers in high-vis jackets can be seen with measuring instruments. The HS2 team are measuring the seasonal heave and fall of ground levels in the Cemetery, in order to assess the impact of tunnelling under the Cemetery as (or if) it occurs. Based on previous experience, ground settlement of up to 20mm can be expected, starting during tunnelling and continuing for a period after the tunnels are built.
Monuments and drainage runs vulnerable to such settlement have been identified by the HS2 team with the help of Trustee John Haines. Some monuments may have to be taken down in advance, for their own safety, and damage to any will be rectified.
John observed today that an article in the latest edition of "New Civil Engineer" (the news magazine of the Institution of Civil Engineers) states: "The drives from Old Oak Common to Euston are slated to commence in 2025 and will take approximately 18 months." The cemetery is in the first quarter of the drive to Euston, so within the first four or five months of tunnelling.