The eagle-eyed among you have spotted that signs and lamp posts at the Ace roundabout have been removed. The reason is that there are some very large loads traversing the junction during the early part of 2025.
The wide loads are transformers weighing the equivalent of thirty elephants. Transformers adjust voltage levels to make sure power can be transmitted and distributed safely.
These transformers are part of National Grid’s £1 billion London Power Tunnels 2 project. The five-year project is to rewire south London via 32.5km of deep underground tunnels running from Wimbledon to Crayford, Bexley. This involves two new substations in Camberwell and Brixton. At the Camberwell substation, the transformers will be part of a significant UK first. The facility is set to become the country’s first and only substation free of the electrical insulating gas sulphur hexafluoride.
The transformers are being delivered to the substations by haulage experts Allelys travelling from Tilbury Docks on specialist vehicles under police escort.
However, like most large vehicles travelling from the docks to southwest London, this super large load did not go via junction 10 of the M25 and up the A3, but from junction 9 along A243 Leatherhead Road, likely due to the height restrictions of the Ace underpass.
Beryl Gibson, Chair of Malden Rushett Resident’s Association, saw one load go through Malden Rushett at approximately 10pm one Saturday night in January.
Two further transformers are due to be delivered to the project’s New Cross substation on Old Kent Road over the spring.
This year will see the start of the UK Power Networks project to renew the existing cables and lay new cables from the substation at Fairoak Lane, Malden Rushett to the Kingston substation at the site where the old Kingston Power Station used to be.
We will keep residents updated as soon as we receive any updates from UK Power Networks team as to the final route of the new cables and the program of road works and closures.