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HS2 approaches summer motorway milestone
Mark Glover Managing Editor
The twin box under construction alongside the M42, near Birmingham Business Park. Image: HS2 Ltd
HS2 is aiming for minimal disruption as it delivers a “vast programme of work” across the summer period.
Beginning at the end of June and slated to finish the penultimate weekend of August, the work will involve the construction of three large structures over the M42 and M6 in the West Midlands.
A twin box will be installed above both carriageways of the M42 near Birmingham Business Park, allowing the railway to be constructed over the top of the motorways. Two single-track viaducts will also be extended over the M42/M6 toll near Water Orton, and a twin-track viaduct will be constructed over the M6 near Chelmsley Wood.
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From Friday, 26 June, the installation of the twin box’s 300m roof deck will take place over four weekend closures. Engineers will install 175 individual beams (all manufactured offsite), each weighing between 56 and 92 tonnes and each lifted into place using a 300-tonne crawler crane.
Northern terminus connection
Meanwhile, engineers in Water Orton will be preparing to extend the two single-track viaducts to bridge the gap between piers on either side of the motorway. These will ultimately carry trains into Birmingham Curzon Street, the project’s planned northern terminus, and the rolling stock depot at Washwood Heath.
The Water Orton 1 and 2 viaducts are approximately 1,200m long and were constructed using the cantilever method. However, the remaining 135m will be prefabricated in sections adjacent to the motorway and moved into position using self-propelled modular transporters and locked into place above the piers. This programme of work will commence on Friday, 24 July.
The final construction phase – the installation of the M6 South Viaduct West – will see two stages of the fully restrained slide process take place over live traffic from Friday 21 August for one weekend.
‘Huge team effort’
HS2 Ltd and its partners have spent more than a year planning for this phase of the project. Agnes Usciak, senior project manager, reflected on the work so far: “The progress we’re making on the viaducts and structures next to the M6 and the M42 is already clear to see, and over the next six months, we’ll start bridging the gaps above the carriageways.
“It’s been a huge team effort to condense this vast programme of work into just six weekend closures, and I’d like to thank all our partners for their co-operation and support."
Balfour Beatty VINCI is the project’s engineering partner, and for its project director, Oliver Shore, the slide process in August will be a familiar one. “We achieved a UK first last year, when we slid a viaduct into place over a live motorway, and we’re delighted to be given the opportunity to repeat the process again this year over the same stretch of the M6.
“Engineering innovations and extensive planning have played a major role in our approach to this vast programme of work, above the M6 and M42, and we’ve made every effort to minimise impacts for motorists and communities.”
