HS2 completes first viaduct structures in North Warwickshire

HS2 engineers have completed the final phase of moving two railway viaducts into place over the M42/M6 link roads in North Warwickshire, marking the first viaduct structures to be installed at Delta Junction.

The operation to position the 158-meter-long ‘West Link Viaduct’ took 11 hours, covering both westbound and eastbound motorway link roads.

HS2, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) and National Highways, completed the operation 6.5 hours ahead of schedule.

The viaducts are part of HS2’s Delta Junction, which will facilitate high-speed train travel between London, Solihull Interchange Station and Birmingham Curzon Street Station.

The ‘East Link Viaduct’ was also moved into place earlier this year and is set to become an internal haul road by December, easing local road congestion.

It involved a team of 25 specialists from Victor Buyck Steel Construction (VBSC), using a push-pull jacking system for precision.

Panos Psathas, senior project manager at HS2, said: “Completing the last in a quartet of viaduct pushes this year is an impressive achievement for the team, particularly as these are the first huge viaduct spans to be built in the Delta Junction.

“We’re now at peak construction, with thousands of specialist engineers, architects, designers and project managers working together, using cutting edge technology like this to deliver Britain’s new high-speed railway.”