A 150-metre section of the viaduct carrying HS2 trains into Birmingham’s new Curzon Street Station will have a 25-metre-high truss that can be lit up at night.
Birmingham City Council has granted Schedule 17 consent for what was originally called Curzon No.2 viaduct but will become the Bellingham Bridge, named after Stourbridge footballer Jude Bellingham.
It will be the tallest structure in the sequence of viaducts and structures that make up the Curzon Street approaches taking HS2 trains into Birmingham.
The bridge consists of a curved truss in weathering steel which carries the high-speed rail line over a Victorian brick rail viaduct below. It will reach 40 metres into the air, resting 17 metres above the ground. The bridge will carry three parallel high speed rail tracks over the existing east-west rail line. Closer to Curzon Street, the tracks will split further to serve the seven platforms being built at the station.
A light installation, called Out of the Blue, has been commissioned from British artist Liz West. The Council has asked HS2 to develop the proposals detailed in the art strategy to enable a separate Schedule 17 submission.
HS2 Ltd design director Kay Hughes said: “We took an ambitious approach to create an iconic structure for the city, working with leading contemporary artist Liz West and our architects to create a distinctive light installation which will provide a fitting addition to the Birmingham skyline.”
Nick McGough, lead architect for the Balfour Beatty Vinci Design Joint Venture responsible for this section of track, said: “We wanted our design to reference the area’s industrial heritage whilst embracing the continuing evolution of Digbeth as the city’s Creative Quarter. We’re delighted that the bridge design has been approved and look forward to continuing our collaboration with the artist Liz West and our ongoing dialogue with the Council to develop the detail of the light installation, which when complete, will form Birmingham’s largest public artwork.”
When it comes to building the bridge, it will be constructed at ground level and then launched over the existing brick viaduct. “This is an exciting construction method, which we believe will be among the longest bridge launches of its type ever delivered in the UK,” said senior project manager David King.
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