[VIDEO] HS2 M6 viaduct slide completed early

Both of the carriageways on the M6 were closed over the weekend as the viaduct was slid into place, with work being completed 9.5 hours ahead of schedule

The HS2 M6 viaduct has completed its second phase, with the first of two viaducts having been slid into place across the motorway.

The East Deck viaduct is 230 metres long.

The slide used a fully restrained technique

The technique allowed the viaduct to begin its journey over the motorway while traffic was still in flow below, minimising the amount of time the road would be closed for.

The slide began on Friday, 26 September, and was completed at 12:30 pm on 28 September, finishing nearly 10 hours earlier than expected.

As with many of the project’s viaducts, the East Deck was built alongside where it would be slid to in sections, allowing each section to be added as the viaduct was slid until all 4,645 tonnes were in place.

Caroline Warrington, HS2 Ltd’s head of delivery, said: “This is a major feat of engineering over a vital section of the UK’s transport infrastructure, so to be able to reopen the road early is a fantastic achievement. These viaducts will be pivotal to the HS2 network, carrying high-speed trains over the M6 and creating better journeys for people for many years to come.”

The project has delivered several milestones ahead of schedule

In August, the HS2 project saw a steel bridge slide into place over Lawley Middleway, being completed an impressive four days ahead of schedule.

The steel bridge weighs 1,631 tonnes and is 112m long. When it was being moved, it slid over a distance of 18 to 24 metres per night from 15 to 22 August.

HS2’s head of delivery for the Curzon approaches, Greg Sugden, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the team, and the culmination of two years’ work including detailed design, planning, construction and delivery of this highly technical launch operation.

“It is the first steel structure to be put in place for the one-mile stretch of viaducts on the approach to Birmingham Curzon Street Station – a pivotal part of the high-speed railway now starting to take shape.”

Two months before, in June, the second-longest tunnel in the HS2 route finished its final breakthrough.

The Northolt Tunnel required four tunnel-boring machines and moved 4,160,000 tonnes of clay. It also took 14,300 concrete tunnel rings to complete.

Upon completion, Alan Morris, construction delivery director, HS2 Ltd, said: “Completing the excavation of this 8.4-mile-long tunnel on HS2 is a real achievement and one the team should be immensely proud of.

“We’re building HS2 for the future, to increase capacity on our rail network and improve journeys for millions of rail users.

“The construction of HS2 is already bringing benefits, with £20bn economic benefit already being delivered at either end of the line.”

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