A giant concrete bridge – 56 metres long, 19 metres wide and weighing 6,200 tonnes – has been driven into place at Fulfen Wood near Lichfield to carry the West Coast main line (WCML) over the HS2 route.
The structure will allow Britain’s new high-speed railway to pass beneath the busy existing railway line, on its route north from Birmingham Curzon Street station towards Crewe.
The giant bridge, which was built adjacent to the WCML over the last six months, was slowly manoeuvred into place on self-propelled modular transporters. Specially designed for very heavy lifting, the 840-wheeled transporter with four carrier beams was controlled by a remote steering system.
The bridge structure had taken six months to build at the side of the existing railway and over 61,000 cubic metres of earth was removed to accommodate it. Finally, two days before the move, the team removed the railway track and excavated over 15,000 cubic metres of material to create the space for the structure to be moved into.
The giant bridge was then slowly manoeuvred into place on a self-propelled modular transporter fitted with four carrier beams to take the weight and 840 wheels that were controlled by a remote steering system.
Senior project manager Caroline Warrington explained: “This huge feat of engineering – the UK’s heaviest single span bridge drive – is our latest big milestone as we approach peak construction on Phase One of HS2.
“We’re making fantastic progress on this section of the route, with over 9,000 people working on the project in the Midlands and over 29,500 on the whole project, providing a vital boost for British businesses and jobs.”
The work was delivered by HS2 civils contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci during a nine-day closure of the railway between Stafford and Rugby. Around 300 were involved, with 200 of them working to backfill around the new bridge and replace the railway tracks and systems prior to reopening the WCML on 24 July 2023.
Balfour Beatty Vinci section engineer Chloe Foster-Chambers worked with the team carrying out the operation. She said: “As an engineer, big feats of engineering like this bridge drive make HS2 such a fantastic project to work on.
“It’s been a real team effort over the last two years, and seeing the operation successfully completed felt like a great achievement for everyone involved.”
The same transporters will be used later in July to install a second heavy bridge at Streethay, where a similar 2,600 tonne structure will be moved into place under the South Staffordshire line between Lichfield High Level station and Derby.
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