Watch: Time lapse footage of HS2 completing first viaducts over M6/M42

HS2 engineers have completed the final operation to move two railway viaducts into place over the M42/M6 link roads in North Warwickshire, making them the first viaduct structures to be built at Delta Junction.

The ‘push’ to move the 158-metre-long ‘West Link Viaduct’ into its final position over both westbound and eastbound motorway link roads took a total of 11 hours over the weekend.

HS2 Ltd, its main works contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) and National Highways collaborated to minimise disruption for people using the roads and enabling these engineering feats to take place. Last weekend’s operation was completed quicker than planned, allowing the motorway link roads to be reopened 6.5 hours ahead of schedule.

The viaducts are part of a group of 13 which make up HS2’s triangular Delta Junction.

This section of the railway enables high speed trains to travel between London, Interchange Station in Solihull and Birmingham Curzon Street Station.

In June, the first 84 metre section of the composite viaduct was moved to its halfway position.

Since then, three further steel girders were welded to the back of the first section and 38 precast concrete slabs were installed to complete the 158-metre-long structure, which has now been moved over both link roads.

The parallel ‘East Link Viaduct’ was moved into place using an identical two-stage process during two weekend operations in February and April this year.

This viaduct is currently being prepared to be brought into use as an internal haul road by the end of December, to move material from Bromford Tunnel to the Delta Junction, taking thousands of lorries off the local road network.

JoseLuis Preciados, senior project manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI, said: "This final viaduct push is a significant milestone in our construction of HS2’s Delta Junction.

“I’m incredibly proud of the team, who’ve worked tirelessly throughout this year to ensure each of these complex operations were planned and delivered with precision.

“Each viaduct deck was built offline and moved into position over a weekend closure of the highway, drastically reducing the impacts on road users. We’ve worked in collaboration with our partners National Highways throughout the entire process, to make sure that this activity was delivered safely and efficiently.”

The Delta Junction is made up of embankments, cuttings and a total of 13 viaducts taking high speed tracks over motorways, local roads, existing rail lines, rivers and floodplains.

The layout of the Delta Junction triangle means the railway from London curves west on a spur towards Birmingham Curzon Street Station.

As trains come out of Birmingham, the line heads north to meet the main HS2 line, which will then connect to the West Coast Main Line to Manchester.

The third side of the triangle allows trains to run between London and Manchester without stopping at Birmingham.

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