HS2 have completed sheet piling work by contractors Skanska Costain STRABAG Railways Joint Venture (SCS Railways) in Acton, West London, to enable the construction of the Victoria Road Crossover Box.
The installation of 200m of sheet piling was the final piece of enabling work before permanent works can begin. The site team completed the work ensuring that vital utilities in the area, including a Thames Water Main and UK Power Network cables were unaffected.
The Victoria Road Crossover Box site is located to the west of where the new superhub HS2 Old Oak Common station is being constructed. The huge underground box structure being built will house a crossover track mechanism that will allow trains to switch between tracks, up to a design speed of 62 mp/h, on the approach and descent from Old Oak Common station.
The box will be 130m in length and 24m deep complete with 1.5m thick walls constructed by diaphragm piling method, with top and intermediate levels of reinforced concrete props. The base slab of the crossover box will be supported is supported by 77 piles which will be installed 20m into the ground below the slab level.
Some interesting details of the impressive structure:
- The crossover box will have a volume of 131,820m3 – the same as 55 Olympic Swimming pools or 800,00 bath tubs.
- The structure will use 3,700 tonnes of reinforcement – that is roughly 1/3 of the weight of the Eiffel
- The depth of the box is the equivalent of 6 double decker buses on top of each other.
- The Piles are 44m long – similar to the height of the Arc de Triomphe.
The site at Victoria Road is also currently being prepared to launch the Northolt Tunnel Boring Machines which will bore 3.4 miles North West, as part of the construction of HS2’s 8.4 mile Northolt Tunnel.
Malcolm Codling, Project Client for HS2 Limited, said:
“HS2 Ltd and our contractors, are pushing ahead, completing this work on time to meet our construction timetable. The Victoria Road site will house some of the most crucial pieces of infrastructure that are required to make Old Oak Common station one of the best connected in the UK, providing a quarter of a million passengers a day connections to the North, East, South and West across the UK”
The site will also be home to the Victoria Road Ancillary Shaft which will provide ventilation and emergency access to the rail line during operation. The shaft will have an internal diameter of 25m and will be constructed using pre cast rings at the top, and using a sprayed concrete lining technique at the bottom.
James Richardson, Managing Director of Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture, said:
"Our team are making great progress on constructing the crossover box at Victoria Road and are working collaboratively with other construction partners to deliver this exceptional programme of work. As we continue to build the HS2 tunnels and shafts between West Ruislip and Euston, we are growing our workforce and offer many routes into our industry so that our team reflects the diversity of the community we serve."
HS2 Ltd, and its main works contractors, begun main works construction of the new high speed railway after being given the green light from the Prime Minister in April 2020. To date over 3,400 people are working across London on the project.
