Visitor centre presents Snowdon summit challenge

A new replacement visitor centre for the top of Mount Snowdon has been been constructed off-site at the Corus Deeside facility.

Main steelwork contractor EvadX is currently trial assembling the entire steel framed structure prior to dismantling it and then transporting it up the 1,085m high mountain by railway.

Andrew Roberts, EvadX Project Manager, said the structure will be taken to the summit in late April and the erection programme will then take up to two months to complete.

“Our erection team will be working at the highest point in England and Wales,” said Mr Roberts. “We will be at the mercy of the elements, as winds can get up to 100mph on Snowdon’s summit, so it’s difficult to judge exactly how long our work will take.”

As the Snowdon mountian railway is the only viable way to the summit, EvadX will have to use it to transport everything to the top. This includes the entire 100t of structural steelwork in lengths of no more than 14m, and a small 3t capacity mobile crane.

The new visitor centre will be located next to the Snowdon railway’s summit drop-off point and will offer a large cafe with washrooms and information area, medical facilities and an emergency overnight shelter.

The main structure, which measures 27m long x 14m wide, has been a challenge to fabricate and design because of its unusual sloping shape. “All of the perimeter columns are cranked out to form the sloping facade and this proved to be a complex design to detail,” explained Mr Roberts.

The one-storey building will also include eight internal feature columns, four 219mm diameter members at the front, and four larger 273mm diameter members at the back.

“These stainless steel CHS members are an architectural element of the structure and will be an eye-catching feature of the completed building,” added Mr Roberts.