Work starts on Exhibition Road!

On 11 February the main phase of the Exhibition Road project officially kicked off with representatives of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, project funding partners Westminster City Council and Transport for London marking the start of work.

Leaders of the two Councils and Kulveer Ranger, Advisor on Transport to the Mayor’s Office, removed the first kerbstone as a symbol of how Exhibition Road will become a single-surface road, designed to reduce traffic congestion and provide residents and visitors with more pedestrian space.

The crowd were treated to a surprise when performers disguised as workmen suddenly burst into song and dance. The routine, based on the Great Exhibition Polka of 1851, brought Exhibition Road to a standstill.

Even though he couldn’t be there himself, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, commented, ‘Every year millions of Londoners and visitors to this great city are drawn to the cornucopia of culture offered on Exhibition Road. The work that begins today will make this incredible part of the capital a space that truly emphasises the world class institutions based there’.