Stockport Interchange, Stockport

Stockport’s award-winning £140million Interchange project is a key element of the town’s ambitious regeneration programme and integral part of Greater Manchester’s new Bee network, providing the town with a modern new multi-modal transport hub and vital link to the broader North West region.

Delivered by Wilmott Dixon on behalf of Stockport Council, the GMCA, and Transport for Greater Manchester, the new 10,000 m² interchange is constructed on the site of the old town centre bus station, surrounded by a busy road network and alongside the  main railway line. It  features a state-of-the-art 18-stand bus terminus capable of handling over 160 departures an hour, as well as a 14-storey residential tower with 196 apartments and ground level retail space, and a first-of-its-type 2-acre city centre rooftop park, complete with new pedestrian and cycling pathways, manicured gardens and a range of recreational facilities.

The challenge

To maximise use of space and promote community engagement, the new Viaduct Park has been constructed on the roof of the new bus terminus, supported on cast concrete columns which have been positioned around the large oval central opening that provides a light and airy atmosphere for travellers below.

To provide a strong and secure base for the park, which sits directly above a fully accessible , covered passenger concourse, concrete specialist, Mayo Civils, has installed a heavy duty reinforced cast in-situ concrete floor slab, supported directly from the concrete columns and the main external wall structure.

One of the key challenges for this large, weight bearing concrete floor was to ensure that the giant, individually cast slabs were able to accommodate lateral movement due to creep and settlement as the concrete cured and that they would work together to provide a consistent level surface when subject to high point loads and vibration from nearby rail and roads. 

The Solution

To meet the challenge, Mayo Civils used high performance Ancon DSD Shear Load Connectors, developed by engineered connection experts, Leviat, to transfer the load between adjacent slabs.  

Used in conjunction with pre-threaded Ancon Starter Bars, the Ancon DSD Shear Load Connectors feature a high grade stainless steel deep double dowel connection capable of providing up to 950 KN of vertical shear to transfer loadings between adjacent slabs.

The two-part sleeve and dowel connectors were simply nailed to the formwork at 600mm centres prior to pouring, removing the need for pre-drilling, dowel bars and debonding sleeves and caps.

Once installed, the unique connectors allowed for movement both across and along  the slab joints whilst maintaining a very rigid connection and allowing the structure to function correctly.    

At intersections with the concrete lift cores, Mayo Civils used Leviat’s Ancon Eazistrip Reinforcement Continuity System to maintain continuity of reinforcement across the slab/wall intersection. The special galvanised steel casing containing pre-bent rebars was simply cast into the vertical core walls during the first phase of construction, ready for bars to be straightened and lapped with the floor slab reinforcement.

The Leviat components, manufactured throughout in high grade stainless steel to prevent corrosion,  made preparation and alignment of the huge supporting concrete slab simpler, faster and more cost-effective, providing  a fully tested, reliable base for Stockport’s groundbreaking new rooftop park.

Outcome

With help from Leviat, this outstanding project, an integral part of a wider £1 billion town centre regeneration programme, has gone on to win multiple awards for design, construction and regeneration.  Top accolades have included Overall Winner at the prestigious 2025 Concrete Society Awards, as well as Project of the Year at both the National Transport Awards 2025 and Construction News Awards 2025.