Later this month, HS2 engineers will begin the installation of the box over the course of four weekend closures
The first weekend closure to install the M42 twin box will take place from Friday 26 June to Monday 29 June.
The installation will require roof beams to be installed spanning both carriageways near Solihull.
The HS2 twin box will allow trains to travel above the M42
The box will see vehicles drive through for a 300-metre stretch while trains can travel overhead. The two supporting walls have been installed on either side of the carriageway, and a central pier in the central reservation, consisting of 46 support columns, is nearly complete.
The walls are 10 metres high, and were built using prefabricated hollow blocks weighing around 14 tonnes each. Each block has been connected using reinforced concrete capable of supporting the beamed roof, which will weigh 9,800 tonnes.
The walls and columns have been built using a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) process, a modular construction approach that reduces the need to close the motorway.
Now engineers are ready to install the 175 prefabricated beams on the M42 twin box, each 23 metres long and weighing between 56 and 92 tonnes. They will be installed using a 300-tonne crawler crane.
Once completed, the twin box will carry four railway tracks over the motorway between the Packington embankment and the Pool Wood embankment.
“British engineering at its very best”
The twin box is one of three major structures being built for HS2 over motorways in the Midlands, alongside the Water Orton twin viaducts and the M6 South viaduct.
Agnes Usciak, HS2 Ltd’s senior project manager for the works, said: “This is a huge moment for the project, and a clear sign of the progress we are making as we begin bridging the gaps over the region’s motorway network.
“This is British engineering at its very best, and it’s fantastic that a UK-based firm has led the way in developing this innovative design solution for the twin box, with manufacturing taking place in the midlands.”
Oliver Shore, project director at Balfour Beatty VINCI said: “This ambitious structure, spanning a busy stretch of the M42 motorway near Solihull, is a huge engineering challenge which has required precision planning and close collaboration with many stakeholders.
“Now the supporting walls are complete, we’re getting ready to move to the next exciting phase of construction, which is the installation of the roof over four weekend carriageway closures throughout the summer.”
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