HS2 has completed a two-year project to rebuild a major road in west London – incorporating an improved section of the local highway into the high-speed rail scheme.
Work to build the 870-metre section of Harvil Road, between Harefield and Ickenham, which is crossed by the new high speed railway, began in January 2020. Designed according to modern design regulations, each carriageway – with a width of more than three and a half metres – is wider than the road is replaces.
Carried by a new bridge over HS2, users of its 1.8m-wide footpaths will be able to glimpse high speed trains travelling at up to 200mph as they run between the line’s Copthall tunnel and the Colne Valley viaduct, which by then will be Britain’s longest rail bridge. The road was reopened last Friday (Feb 2).
The works were carried out by Skanska Costain STRABAG, the HS2 main works civil engineering contractor for the route area.
HS2 Ltd project client director, Malcolm Codling said:
“It’s great to see this new section of Harvil Road replace the old carriageway. We’ve taken considerable care to design a road that works for all users today and well into the future.
“Completion of this scheme as part of major HS2 works in the area is a clear demonstration of the momentum behind delivering the new high speed line.”
Skanska Costain STRABAG JV Managing Director James Richardson said:
“As we complete sections of the new railway, improved local infrastructure such as Harvil Road can be used early, improving journeys through the area and supporting local communities. The section of road we have opened runs over the new Copthall tunnel, through which the new high speed trains will run.”
The pre-existing section of Harvil Road, which can be seen on maps of the area dating back to the mid-eighteenth century, was closed to traffic as the new stretch opened. It will now be removed and the land under and around it will be greened with extensive tree and shrub planting as part of HS2’s landscaping.
ENDS
