Telent was contracted to remove traffic signals along the Westminster route of the Marathon, and for the King’s coronation route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Cathedral, via Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
The removal of the traffic signals was critical to ensure that the movements of the Military were unimpeded for the coronation route during rehearsals and the main event. Additionally to ensure that the media and television cameras were able access the best vantage points for streaming the news coverage of both events to the millions watching at home.
The works were carried out ahead of the overnight rehearsals in the run up to Saturday 6 May and at the Westminster section of the Marathon route for the race on Sunday 23 April. The poles were re-installed before normal business hours for TfL to return transport routes to normalcy and ‘keep London moving’.
The works followed the success of similar work carried out ahead of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.