Incredible images of the completion of the latest stage of the HS2 Curzon Street station viaduct have been released
The completed sections mark the next step on the programme to build a series of viaducts to carry the railway through Birmingham’s industrial heartland and into the city centre.
High speed trains are set to travel out of the west portal of the 3.5 mile Bromford Tunnel at Washwood Heath and onto a one mile long stretch of connected viaducts through Duddeston, and cross over the Birmingham to Derby railway, Lawley Middleway and Digbeth Canal.
On the approach into Birmingham, the five viaducts are Duddeston, Curzon 1, Curzon 2, Lawley Middleway and Curzon 3 - which links to Curzon Street station.
The completed six metre-high sections of the Curzon 3 viaduct are where the structures widen from a single deck to four separate decks, spanning 65 metres at the widest point, to carry the tracks to the Curzon Street station platforms.
The viaducts are being built by HS2’s Midlands contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI, with a team of more than 200 people including specially trained joiners, steel fixers and scaffolders from the local area, including five apprentices.
Since the concrete pour for the first Curzon 3 viaduct decks started in November last year, the site team have completed all the deck work, attached the parapets and removed the shuttering and scaffolding to reveal the finished Curzon 3 deck concrete sections.
A total of 3,700 cubic metres of concrete have been poured to make the four individual sections of the Curzon 3 viaduct, that will connect to the future station platforms. This is in addition to 88 concrete parapets that have been installed so far, creating the side barriers of the viaduct.
A total of 176 parapets are needed for the entire Curzon 3 structure, each measuring between 1.6m and 2.9m high, and weighing between four and five tonnes each. When complete, HS2 is expected to improve connections between London and the West Midlands, with trains running further north on existing lines.
Planners react to latest HS2 landmark completion
HS2 planners say this new high speed railway will create quicker and far more reliable journeys, driving economic growth while freeing up space for more local trains on the most congested part of the existing West Coast Main Line.
The viaducts are designed by a Design Joint Venture of Mott MacDonald and SYSTRA with architects Weston Williamson + Partners, all working for Balfour Beatty VINCI
Stephen Powell, HS2’s Head of Delivery said: “It’s fantastic to see the firt sections of this viaduct revealed, giving a clear view of how HS2 trains will approach Birmingham city centre.”
Georgios Markakis, Section Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI said: “We’re entering a really exciting phase of the project now, as this iconic viaduct in the centre of Birmingham begins to take shape.
“Using this momentum, we’re currently installing four parapets each day, while following the same process to complete the remaining deck spans, which we expect to finish in 2026.”
Nicholas Robertshaw, Design Project Director at Mott MacDonald SYSTRA Design Joint Venture said: “With the first sections of the Curzon 3 viaduct now complete it’s clear to see that this will be a landmark structure that everyone in Birmingham can celebrate and be proud of.”
What’s coming next as HS2 construction continues?
HS2 say further sections of the Curzon 3 viaduct are set to be built in the same way, and later this year, the construction of the span over Digbeth Canal will commence using jacks to slide 34 temporary steel girders, each measuring 38 metres long, below the four steel tripods to support the falsework and formwork, necessary for the deck construction.
They further explained how the large arched span over Lawley Middleway is made from weathering steel girders, and is currently being built on the site. It will be moved into place over the road during a series of short night-time road closures in the summer. Building it in this way drastically cuts disruption to road users.
Let’s take a look at the HS2 Curzon Street station viaduct section completion in Birmingham city centre more closely:
1. HS2 Curzon Street station landmark viaduct section completed
2. HS2 Curzon Street station landmark viaduct section completed
3. HS2 Curzon Street station landmark viaduct section completed
4. HS2 Curzon Street station landmark viaduct section completed