HS2 and National Highways have confirmed that 14 bridges are affected by the welding issues disclosed by steelwork contractor Severfield on Tuesday (26 November).
Although HS2 confirmed that nine of its structures are impacted, it has only disclosed the names of three bridges affected, “while commercial negotiations regarding remedial work are ongoing”.
The impacted bridges named by HS2 are:
- Duddeston Mill Road bridge, Birmingham: the bridge opened in August 2024 and carries a realigned section of Network Rail track over a local road. The main contractor was Balfour Beatty Vinci joint venture (BBV JV).
- Princes Risborough to Aylesbury rail bridge, Buckinghamshire: EKFB (a joint venture comprising Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and Bam Nuttall) built the structure carrying the branch of the Chiltern main line over HS2. It opened in October 2023.
- Harvil Road bridge, Hillingdon: a road bridge over the Chiltern line built by the Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture (SCS JV). It opened in February 2024.
During site works, HS2 identified a welding defect related to manufacturing at one factory.
The issue affects sections of up to nine bridge and viaduct structures being built as part of HS2, which has more than 500 bridging structures between London and the West Midlands.
HS2 said that remedial work has already been undertaken to correct defects on “a number of structures” while work is ongoing elsewhere. All bridges placed into service have been thoroughly inspected and are safe to use.
HS2 is working with Severfield to identify the root cause of the problem.
National Highways bridges affected
National Highways confirmed that the following five structures are affected by Severfield’s welding problems:
- M42 Solihull Road B4102: Skanska delivered a £282m upgrade at junction 6, which included two new bridges weighing a total of 2,050 tonnes.
- A1 Allerdene Railway Replacement: the bridge over the East Coast Mainline railway was replaced in September 2023 as part of a larger A1 improvement project delivered by Costain.
- A30 Chiverton (Tolgroggan Accommodation East): in 2023, Costain replaced a 32-year-old bridge with a steel twin-beam overbridge.
- A46 Binley Junction A428: in 2022, Octavius completed the installation of a four-lane 135m-long flyover on the A46 at Binley, Coventry.
- A454 Catherine De Barnes Lane South B4438: Skanska delivered the upgrade outside Birmingham.
‘No impact on safety’
A spokesperson for HS2 said: “We have identified a number of welding defects related to steel fabrication work undertaken by one of our suppliers. A comprehensive review has been undertaken to determine the extent of the further action required. We are working closely with the company and our supply chain to address the issue.
“This will not impact on the safety or quality of the operational railway which is being designed to the highest standards.”
A National Highways spokesperson said: “We regularly carry out inspections on the structures we manage to make sure our network is safe and in good working order. We are carrying out targeted inspections on a small number of bridges to rule out any potential issues.
“These bridges remain safe to use. For any abnormal load movements, we have put restrictions in place as a precaution while we assess whether any further strengthening measures may be required.”
