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Road closed and trains affected by HS2 viaduct build

Katy Prickett
BBC News, Buckinghamshire
HS2 Ltd Artist's impression of HS2 Small Dean Viaduct . It shows a blurry speeding train part-way over a bridge surrounded by trees, with fields and more trees beyond.HS2 Ltd
HS2 engineers "will use technology similar to the surface of a non-stick frying pan to slide the viaduct into position"

Part of a busy road has been temporarily closed for the installation of a 345m (1,132ft)-long HS2 viaduct, with rail travel also affected over the weekend.

The A413 near Wendover, south of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, has been closed as part of a four-day operation which began on Thursday. It is due to reopen by 05:30 GMT on Saturday.

Engineers "will use technology similar to the surface of a non-stick frying pan to slide the viaduct into position" over the road and railway line, HS2 said.

Rail passengers will be affected on Saturday and Sunday, when the Chiltern Railways line between Great Missenden and Aylesbury will be closed.

HS2 Ltd Artist's impression of HS2 Small Dean Viaduct close up of strengtheners. The show brown metal ribs curving up and under the base of the viaduct. They are resting on Y-shaped concrete pillars. HS2 Ltd
The viaduct's beams will be made from weathering steel which naturally ages to a characteristically dark russet, said the company

The A413 closure includes the Wendover bypass southbound, the Missenden bypass, Dunsmore Lane and London Road going into Wendover.

Diversions will be put in place, the company said.

It hopes to open the road sooner than scheduled, depending on how the installation goes.

The 6m (19ft)-high Small Dean viaduct is one of two places in the Chilterns where the railway route will be above ground.

HS2 said the installation of the viaduct is a "delicate operation" and "will be the heaviest and longest single-stage viaduct deck slide on the HS2 project so far".

It is one of five on the project to be built with a "double composite" structure.

This uses two steel beams sandwiched between layers of reinforced concrete to create a lightweight and super strong hollow span, said the company.

HS2 Ltd Artist's impression of HS2 Small Dean Viaduct A413 looking north. On the right is a the bridge resting on Y-shaped concrete pillars with a road beneath it. On the left is a field with flowers. There is a path alongside the road. There are people on the path and cars on the road. HS2 Ltd
Small Dean Lane and the A413 will be under the viaduct realigned under the viaduct as part of the project

Unlike other viaducts on the project, Small Dean viaduct was assembled in one piece and will be pushed out across the road and railway line "in the heaviest and longest single-stage deck slide on the project so far", it added.

The £71bn HS2 project is designed to improve links between London and the West Midlands.

It was originally meant to connect London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds; but the link between Birmingham and Manchester was scrapped by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October 2023.

It has faced criticism about the impact of the proposed route on swathes of countryside and woodland, amid setbacks and soaring costs.

Once trains have crossed the viaduct, northbound trains will pass Wendover in a tunnel, the company said.

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