A third heavyweight bridge has been successfully moved into place as part of the HS2 high-speed rail project.
The bridge at Kenilworth, West Midlands was moved into place by Freyssinet for contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci using an innovative technique that aimed to reduce disruption to rail services.
The structure that was pushed, including wingwalls, was 46m in length. The 22m-long bridge was slid into place by 47m on a guiding raft slab using five 1,000t jacks.
Prior to the slide the contractor removed 113m of rail track and 15,000m3 of material.
The move took five-and-a-half hours and was completed at 03:30 on Monday 31 July from a start date of 29 July. The West Midlands Railway track was then replaced and the line reopened on 6 August.
The two other large-scale bridge installations were carried out with wheeled transporters. The Fulfen Wood Overbridge installation took place on 17 July (link opens in a new tab) and involved a 6,200t bridge. The 2,600t Streethay Bridge was moved into place on 28 July.
HS2 is a high-speed railway construction project that aims to connect the UK capital London with the north of England. It is considered to be Europe’s largest infrastructure project and has US$29 billion invested in its supply chain.
