{"id":221183,"date":"2025-05-21T18:57:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=177830"},"modified":"2025-05-21T18:57:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T08:57:17","slug":"hs2-prepares-for-first-m6-viaduct-slide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=221183","title":{"rendered":"HS2 prepares for first M6 viaduct slide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The construction of two parallel viaducts that will carry HS2 trains over the M6 near Birmingham Airport has taken a major step forward, with the first section of structural steelwork now complete.<\/p>\n

To reduce disruption for motorists, the twin 320-metre-long M6 South viaducts are being assembled to one side and will be slid over the road over a series of weekends, with each section pushed out before later sections are added behind them.<\/p>\n

The first viaduct to be built is the \u2018East Deck\u2019, which will carry two tracks taking trains towards London. The first section \u2013 which stretches for 119 metres \u2013 will be slid out over a slip road next to the motorway during the weekend of 7-8\u00a0June.<\/p>\n

The next stages, which take the viaduct over the motorway and the M6-M42 Link Road will occur over two further weekend closures.<\/p>\n

This complex process means that the weight of the deck will increase with each push, up from an initial 1,300 tonnes to around 3,000 tonnes by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

At this point, the railway will be on a slight gradient, so to help maintain control, the deck \u2013 which will eventually weigh around the same as 214 double-decker buses – is being pushed slightly uphill, with the finish point 4.2 metres higher than the start point.<\/p>\n

Liam Kenney, HS2 Ltd\u2019s senior project manager said: \u201cIt\u2019s great to see the first section of the M6 viaducts coming together. The construction of these twin viaducts is a hugely complex process, and I\u2019d like to thank everyone who is worked so hard to get us ready for the first slide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe multi-stage approach, learning lessons from previous bridge slides, will help reduce disruption for motorists and keep closures to a minimum.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 200 major bridges and viaducts are being built as part of the HS2 project, which is designed to improve journeys between London, the West Midlands and the north, while freeing up space on the existing mainline for more freight and local services.<\/p>\n

\n
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M6 Viaducts north and south with Coleshill Heath Road underbridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The complex operation is being led by HS2\u2019s main works contractor, BBV \u2013 a team made up of Balfour Beatty and VINCI, supported by specialist steelwork company Victor Buyck Steel Construction (VBSC). The team are working closely with National Highways and drawing on recent experience of delivering the nearby M42\/M6 link viaducts.<\/p>\n

A series of winches, known as strand jacks, will be used to push the decks forward at a speed of between six and eight metres per hour, sliding across non-stick pads to reduce friction \u2013 a material usually found to the surface of a household frying pan.<\/p>\n

The \u2018West Deck\u2019 \u2013 which will carry a further two tracks for northbound trains – will be assembled and slid out next year using the same technique. Due to the spacing of the piers, four slides will be needed to push this second viaduct across the road.<\/p>\n

Balfour Beatty VINCI\u2019s Russell Luckhurst leads the team delivering these viaducts. He said: “We\u2019re entering an exciting phase in the construction of these viaducts, as the first steel section begins to take shape. Assembly of these viaduct decks are taking place offline next to the motorway, and are being launched in a multi-phased approach, to reduce the impact on road users.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018East\u2019 viaduct will be the first viaduct to be moved into place over three weekend closures, with the first launch taking place in June.\u00a0 The \u2018West\u2019 viaduct will be assembled and launched using the same method in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both viaduct spans will be formed of a hollow double-box structure made of weathering steel. This kind of steel boasts a natural protective layer of oxidisation which gives it a characteristic \u2018rusty\u2019 appearance and reduces maintenance by eliminating the need for regular repainting.<\/p>\n

Four pairs of concrete piers will support the viaducts with tallest one 9.9 metres in height. A 4.5-metre-high parapet will be provided on the side facing the Chelmsey Wood to reduce noise and disturbance from passing trains.<\/p>\n

Image credit: HS2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The construction of two parallel viaducts that will carry HS2 trains over the M6 near Birmingham Airport has taken a major step forward, with the first section of structural steelwork now complete. To reduce disruption for motorists, the twin 320-metre-long M6 South viaducts are being assembled to one side and will be slid over the [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1089,343,47,16148,16031,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hs2","category-infrastructure","category-rail-news","category-rail-projects","category-structures","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=221183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":221184,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221183\/revisions\/221184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=221183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=221183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=221183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}