A specialist HS2 engineering team is preparing for a complex and high-precision operation to move a 112-metre-long, 1,631-tonne steel bridge over Lawley Middleway, part of Birmingham’s ring road, this August.
Delivered by Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) and heavy lifting experts Mammoet, the operation will use a combination of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) and a skidding system to rotate and position the bridge. This technique, rarely used in UK infrastructure projects, marks a first for BBV on the HS2 programme.
Rather than building the bridge in situ, the structure has been constructed next to Digbeth Canal over the past two years to minimise disruption. The bridge will be moved 12 metres per night between 15–23 August, with night-time road closures in place from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. A signed diversion route will avoid the Birmingham Clean Air Zone (CAZ).
The Lawley Middleway bridge forms part of HS2’s approach to Curzon Street Station, connecting the Bromford Tunnel to a one-mile stretch of five viaducts: Duddeston Junction, Curzon 1, Curzon 2, Lawley Middleway, and Curzon 3.
This section of the railway is now at peak productivity, with major milestones ahead, including:
- Second Bromford Tunnel breakthrough
- Curzon 2 viaduct move
- First Duddeston Junction viaduct move
- Reopening of Aston Church Road
- Demolition and rebuild of Saltley Viaduct
Greg Sugden, Head of Delivery for the Curzon Approaches at HS2, said:
“The team have worked hard to get us ready for yet another significant feat of engineering, marking a further step forward in the construction of the high-speed railway into Birmingham.
“The Curzon Approaches is a complex and challenging section, with the railway being carefully designed and constructed through an urban landscape and network of roads, railways and canals.”
Image credit: HS2
