HS2 blockade completes third big push

The third bridge move of the past four weeks took place under the Coventry to Leamington Spa railway in Warwickshire.

Balfour Beatty Vinci, the HS2 main contractor for the Birmingham end of HS2 phase one, has been building structures offline, then moving them into place to minimise disruption to existing rail services.

The latest move saw a 5,600-tonne box, measuring 22 metres long by 11 metres wide, moved 47 metres into place.

While previous heavyshift operations have been conducted by Mammoet using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs), this one was done by Vinci company Freyssinet using five 3.8-tonne hydraulic jacks to push it across a sliding surface.

From the start of blockade on Saturday 29th July, 113 metres of the existing rail track and 188 rail sleepers were removed by the 250-strong crew. Then 15,000 cubic metres of ground, including hard sandstone material, was excavated to create the space for the bridge to be moved into.

Moving at around nine metres per hour, it took five and a half hours to push the structure into position. It was completed at 03.30 hrs on Monday 31st July, 27 hours ahead of schedule.

The team is now backfilling around the structure and putting the rail track back in place above it, ready for the railway to be re-opened at 08.30 on Sunday 6th August.

On 17th July, a 6,200-tonne bridge was moved into place by Mammoet an 840-wheeled SPMT at Fulfen Wood near Lichfield under the West Coast Main Line. [See our previous report here.] 

On 28th July, a 2,600-tonne bridge was also driven under the existing South Staffordshire freight railway line at nearby Streethay using the same method but with fewer axle lines required.

Balfour Beatty Vinci project manager Shamus Banaghan said: “Over the last two and a half years through design development to implementation, we have remained focused on delivering this critical bridge move during the fixed Network Rail blockade. I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has contributed to us achieving this latest feat of engineering ahead of schedule.”

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