Balfour Beatty VINCI has achieved a significant construction milestone by completing the four huge piers of the "Bellingham Bridge" on behalf of HS2. The bridge, named after England footballer Jude Bellingham, is designed to celebrate the area's industrial heritage and make a striking addition to Birmingham's skyline. The bridge is part of a sequence of viaducts that will carry high-speed trains in and out of Birmingham, with a 25-metre-high curved truss displaying a vibrant light installation, creating a new icon on the city's skyline.
The construction of the four piers began in Autumn 2023, with each structure now standing 16 meters tall. The assembly of the deck and the curved truss in weathering steel has commenced and is set to complete by next Spring. The 150-meter-long deck is being assembled on top of the seven piers of the adjacent Curzon 1 viaduct, with around 130 individual parts lifted by crane. The entire deck and truss structure, weighing over 4,000 tonnes, will then be slid 190 meters into place onto the Curzon 2 piers using a jacking system, a process set to take place over 12 days in Summer 2025.
The viaduct includes a unique light installation, titled "Out of the Blue," designed by British artist Liz West, which will introduce a dynamic color palette to the steel truss, framing views of the city. The Curzon approach viaducts are being built by Balfour Beatty VINCI, with a team of more than 250 people, including engineering apprentices, steel welders, steel fixers, and joiners.
The completion of the four 16-meter-high piers to support the bridge shows the significant progress being made, and the team is preparing for the operation next year, which is believed to be among the longest bridge launches of its type ever delivered in the UK. The design for the Curzon Street approaches section has been developed by a Design Joint Venture of Mott MacDonald and Systra and architects Weston Williamson + Partners, all working for Balfour Beatty VINCI.
When complete, HS2 will improve connections between London and the West Midlands, with trains running further north on existing lines. This new high-speed railway will create quicker and far more reliable journeys, driving economic growth while crucially freeing up space for more local trains on the most congested part of the existing West Coast Main Line.