This is why Newmarket Road was closed at rush hour tonight
Cambridgeshire Police closed Newmarket Road for 45 minutes to allow for something quite large to be moved...
Samar Maguire
The main Newmarket Road route in Cambridge was closed so three massive beams could be moved into the site of the city's under-construction ice rink tonight (May 10).
Cambridgeshire Police closed Newmarket Road for around 45 minutes to allow for a lorry carrying the structure to reverse into the site by the Newmarket Road Park and Ride.
The glulam-made beams from Germany are 10.5 tonnes, 38 metres long, and 1.8 metres deep, and were three of five delivered to form the roof of the ice rink. The other two beams will be delivered within the next two weeks.
A beam being reversed into the ice rink site in Newmarket Road
It has taken them around 36 hours to be delivered to Cambridge.
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Jim Kay, director of Cool Venues, said: "[Building work] is going well. We've now overcome the problems we had with the unexploded ordnances. We had 192 sip grenades that needed to be dealt with, so we lost a bit of time but we're back on programme.
"The steel columns are going up next week, the beams will be erected towards the end of the month."
Hugo Keene, the Architect of the new ice rink and also an Ice Hockey player who will play at the rink when it opens, was in Newmarket Road this evening
Work to build the new ice rink started in November last year, to be officially opened in autumn 2018.
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The 340-seat arena will provide schools, university teams and members of the public access to figure skating, ice hockey, ice dancing, speed skating and ice discos.
The new rink is being built on land leased from aerospace and defence company Marshall of Cambridge.
It is supported by a £1.85 million loan from South Cambridgeshire District Council.
A Cambridgeshire Police spokeswoman said: "Tonight officers closed Newmarket Road to allow the lorry that is carrying the beams to reverse into the ice rink.
"They are being escorted from Norfolk by Norfolk Constabulary."
Jez Locke of Melcon services who are the principal contractor wished to pass on their thanks to the Cambridgeshire Police and Marshalls for their efforts and assistance in helping them get the beams safely onto the site.