A 91-metre bridge designed to carry HS2 over the existing West Coast Main Line near Kenilworth is taking shape, following the successful installation of 83 giant concrete beams.
Installed using a 500-tonne crawler crane, the horizontal beams collectively form the deck of the bridge structure that will eventually be used as part of the high-speed rail line.
Each beam measures 19 metres in length, with 81 beams weighing 18.1 tonnes and two beams weighing 33 tonnes – a total of 1,532.1 tonnes. The Carol Green rail bridge structure will, on completion, span over 20 metres, 7.5 metres in height and 91 metres in width.
Before the high-speed tracks are laid, the bridge will form part of a haul road for HS2 construction vehicles. It will connect the north and south side of the West Coast Main Line, providing a temporary route from the Aston Martin roundabout to Burton Green. This will reduce construction traffic through the Balsall Common road network and minimise disruption for local communities.
Once operational, the bridge structure and its embankments will take the new HS2 railway diagonally over the existing West Coast Main Line.
The successful operation was delivered by a team of 30 people over 13 consecutive weekends by HS2’s construction partner Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV). The pre-cast concrete bridge beams were manufactured in Ashfordby, Melton Mowbray, by a specialist civil and structural engineering partnership FTB JV – a joint venture formed of Freyssinet, Tierra Armada and Roger Bullivant.
The final phase of construction sees the installation of parapet walls and acoustic barriers, as well as backfilling and landscaping – with full completion expected in Autumn 2025.
Jack King, HS2 Project Manager, said:
“It takes an immense amount of skill and precision to carry out such a challenging feat of engineering and to construct these colossal structures. We’re proud to have reached this stage of the bridge’s completion ahead of schedule, which is testament to the entire team.
“Thank you to everyone involved onsite as we continue to pave the way for Britain’s new high-speed line.”
Shamus Banaghan, Senior Project Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI, said:
“Constructing a bridge over the West Coast Main Line is a complex operation and I’m incredibly proud of how my operations team and supply chain partners have responded to this challenge.
“Working tirelessly across 13 weekend night shifts, together we’ve successfully installed 83 pre-tensioned concrete beams over the existing rail track, forming the bridge deck. Now this phase of work is complete, the Carol Green underbridge is really starting to take shape.”
Mark Jordan, Main Line South Regional Design Delivery Director for the Mott MacDonald SYSTRA Design Joint Venture – which was behind the bridge design – said:
“The design team is proud to collaborate with Balfour Beatty VINCI to deliver this grade separation solution that has been optimised for construction over the West Coast Main Line.
“This builds on the earlier successes of three completed grade separations under existing rail corridors completed in the past year, opening up the HS2 Main Line corridor using innovative design and construction solutions.”
Route-wide, HS2 is building more than 500 bridging structures – including over 50 major viaducts which will stretch for a combined total of 15 kilometres (9 miles) across valleys, rivers, roads and flood plains.
As construction continues at pace between the West Midlands and London, HS2 now supports more than 31,000 jobs. When complete, Britain’s new high-speed railway will create quicker and more reliable journeys, driving economic growth while crucially freeing up space for more local trains on the most congested part of the existing West Coast Main Line.
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