Construction of the Colne Valley Viaduct is nearing the milestone halfway stage. The completed railway bridge will be the longest viaduct on the HS2 phase 1.
Construction of the Colne Valley Viaduct on the outskirts of London is nearing the milestone halfway stage. New Civil Engineer reports that the completed structure will be the longest viaduct on the HS2 phase 1, at 3.4km (2.1 miles). Work began in 2021 to sink a series of 300 piles that will act as the foundations of the structure, holding up huge precast segments.
Teams of engineers have been working through the night to get the piling for all the piers in place by the end of December, and the project is on schedule to be fully completed by 2024. It will be the longest railway bridge in the UK, and has been described by a former HS2 minister as ‘a feat of British engineering.’
The viaduct spans lakes and rivers that lie between Hillingdon, Buckinghamshire, and the M25. It is being constructed in a series of spans up to 80 metres long, which are made up of precast segments manufactured on site.
The viaduct will be elevated approximately 10 metres above water level, as it spans the River Colne, the Grand Union Canal, and other lakes and waterways, the BBC reports. It will also carry the railway over the open green spaces and parks of the Colne Valley, which are a popular recreational area.
The work for the section crossing the busy A412 had to be carried out at night in order to avoid a disruptive closure of the road during the daytime. Instead, the road was closed during the hours of darkness, and engineers had to get used to working under lights over 60 nights.
HS2 senior project manager Billy Ahluwalia described night working as “a learning curve”, but added that the workforce soon adjusted, and the work has been successfully completed to schedule.
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