Balfour Beatty VINCI has completed major bridge lifting operations over the M42, installing the final Water Orton viaduct spans and completing the 175-beam roof of HS2’s 300m-long twin box structure.
Four weekends of coordinated installation
The latest weekend closure saw engineers lift the last of six viaduct spans that will carry HS2 over the M42 in the West Midlands, with the motorway reopening at around 4am on Monday 21 September.
Three miles south, a separate team installed the final 44 precast beams over the southbound carriageway to complete the twin box roof. Each 23m beam weighs between 56 and 92 tonnes and was positioned using a 300-tonne crawler crane.
Oliver Shore, Project Director for Balfour Beatty VINCI, said:
“The twin box and Water Orton Viaducts are three major structures that cross the busy M42 motorway. In just four weekends, we’ve completed the bridging works on each of them, closing the gap over the north and southbound carriageways.”
Precast spans moved into position
A 75-strong team also installed the final two 45m Water Orton Viaduct 2 spans. Each was assembled from 18 precast segments manufactured locally at Balfour Beatty VINCI’s Kingsbury concrete batching plant.
Once assembled, the 1,000-tonne spans were driven into position using self-propelled modular transporters before being secured with tensioning cables.
Work can now progress to parapets and final concrete pours ahead of track installation.
Source & image credit: Balfour Beatty
