Balfour Beatty Vinci has achieved a new milestone in the construction of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway line project in the UK.
The company has successfully positioned the first major viaduct section over the motorway network in North Warwickshire, marking a key development as the Delta Junction reaches peak construction.
Balfour Beatty VINCI, a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and VINCI, together with Victor Buyck Steel Construction has employed a specialised push-pull technique to install this 84m, 300t steel viaduct section over westbound link road between M6 and M42 near Coleshill.
This installation represents the first of two phases to establish the viaduct's deck for the HS2's East Link Viaduct, which forms part of the Delta Junction's triangular layout.
The second phase, scheduled for this April, aims to complete a 158m-long composite deck spanning both the westbound and eastbound motorway link roads.
Subsequent works will include the addition of in-situ concrete deck and parapets to finalise the structure.
Later this year, a similar two-stage operation will install the 'West Link Viaduct', running parallel to the East Link Viaduct.
This section is crucial for connecting high-speed trains between London, the Interchange Station in Solihull, and Birmingham Curzon Street Station.
Following the initial launch to the halfway point over the westbound link road, three additional steel girders and 40 precast slabs will be added to the structure.
In April, this entire assembly, now weighing 1,100 tonnes (t), will be moved to its final position over both west- and east-bound motorway link roads.
HS2 Area North delivery head Stephen Powell said: “While we continue to construct HS2 in this area, it will provide a crossing route over the highway for construction vehicles to move excavated material from Bromford Tunnel to other work sites in Delta Junction, removing thousands of lorry movements from the local road network.”
Delta Junction comprises embankments, cuttings, and 13 viaducts, allowing high-speed tracks to traverse motorways, rail lines, roads, floodplains and rivers, while viaducts include six precast segmental, four composite, and three low viaducts.
Earlier this month, Balfour Beatty Vinci removed a 4,000t bridge over the M42 motorway.
