Background
The Helix has been awarded a £25 million grant by The Big Lottery Fund as part of its Living Landmarks Programme. Significant funding and land has also been committed by Falkirk Council and British Waterways Scotland. The project is being driven by a partnership of Falkirk Council, British Waterways Scotland and Central Scotland Forest Trust through the Helix Trust. British Waterways have contributed £7.3 million, and the Forest Trust will manage the planting of 750,000 saplings.
A contract worth £13.5 million was awarded to Balfour Beatty in early 2012, for the construction of the 950 yards (870 m) of new canal. Another £1 million contract for the visitor centre was awarded to Nicholl Russell Studios, a firm of architects based in Dundee. The steel-plated Kelpie structures will include a viewing platform, enabling visitors to observe the countryside through the eyes of the Kelpie. By December 2012, the channel for the canal link had been excavated, and the first major artwork was erected in the Abbotshaugh Community Woodland in early 2013. The project was expected to be completed by the summer of 2013.
Construction of the 1600-tonne foundations for the Kelpies began in early 2013. The steel structures for the Kelpies have been fabricated at Sherburn-in-Elmet in North Yorkshire by S H Structures, with delivery of the main steelwork beginning in March 2013. Each Kelpie weighs 300 tonnes, and once the framework has been erected, they will be clad in stainless steel plates, with completion expected in September or October.
Read more about this topic: Falkirk Helix
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