Huge steel HS2 bridge wheeled into place

A 1,600-tonne steel and concrete bridge has been moved into place above a railway and new HS2 tracks in Birmingham.

Aston Church Road bridge, which is 84m (275ft) long and 21m (68ft) wide, was moved over the existing Birmingham to Derby railway line in Saltley overnight on Saturday, HS2 said.

It includes an upgraded section of road along with cycle pathways, a pedestrian walkway, LED lighting and new woodland planting.

The work took five hours and the operation of the railway beneath was handed back to Network Rail five hours earlier than expected, HS2 said.

Lifting engineering experts moved the bridge into place using two 128-wheeled, self-propelled modular transporters between 22:00 and 03:00 BST.

Other structures around the bridge are set to be completed in the coming weeks, with the original Aston Church Road bridge being demolished over the next 14 months to create extra space for the HS2 line to pass through.

The high-speed rail network was designed to connect London to Birmingham with reduced journey times, but the planned northern leg was scrapped by the government in 2023 amid spiralling costs. The huge infrastructure project has also drawn criticism from some on environmental grounds.

Steve Powell, head of delivery for HS2, said of the new bridge: “This is another great construction milestone for HS2 in the West Midlands, with our teams using the most innovative techniques to deliver feats of engineering safely and efficiently.

“It’s also a great example of how the new infrastructure we’re building for HS2 also upgrades the local road network, providing big improvements for local communities.”

Dan Binns, project manager at Saltley Balfour Beatty VINCI, which oversaw the project, said there was "an enormous feeling of pride within the team".

“This was a complex operation, made even more challenging because the bridge needed to be driven over four existing network rail lines, requiring years of precise planning and preparation," he said.

“We purposely chose to move the bridge on wheels, so it could be built offline first, then moved across in just five hours, greatly reducing the impact on rail passengers.”

In nearby Solihull, residents have complained about noisy construction work at night as part of the wider HS2 project.

Their misgivings were shared at a recent meeting of the rail line's Implementation Advisory Group at Solihull Council.

The authority gave planning approval to HS2 Interchange Station in 2020 which will serve Solihull, Birmingham Airport and the NEC.

Tahir Ahmed, senior engagement and interface manager at Balfour Beatty Vinci said a "common theme" was around the traffic management, lorry movements, and noise.

“We do take complaints seriously," he said.

"When they are reported, they are reported to the HS2 help desk.

“They are logged and tracked. It will come through to my team, we will investigate."

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