City-Centre Based Transport Logistics
It will be appreciated that there is a world of difference between the outskirts of London and centre of the city – the same applying to almost every major city throughout the world.
Route Surveys
Frequently, route surveys come into play. As often as not, approval will be needed from the local authority, police and other related parties. They can easily dictate that movement is only allowed at night or over the weekend. In extreme cases, where road closure is involved, detours have to be arranged, to also include bus routes, temporary bus stops etc. With one particular, time critical, project – the authorities insisted that a second crane was kept on standby, in the unlikely event of the primary crane breaking down.
River-only Access in Major Cities
This disregards the fact that many major cities only allow access by river – as was the case with The London Eye, where STG organised a relay of tugs and barges along the Thames. A similar situation arose with the delivery of a gas turbine into the centre of Paris – utilising an ocean going barge which, thankfully, just managed to squeeze through the locks on the river Seine.
Each of these and many similar projects, although comparable, were unique in their own right.
