Balfour Beatty VINCI, on behalf of HS2, has completed a significant construction operation by moving an 84-metre long, 1,600-tonne steel and concrete bridge into place in Saltley, Birmingham. The bridge was moved over the existing Birmingham to Derby railway line and will also sit above the new HS2 tracks, providing an upgraded and safer section of Aston Church Road, including cycleways connecting various areas in north-east Birmingham. The operation, which took five hours, was delivered by Balfour Beatty VINCI and their specialist bridge move contractor Mammoet, during a Network Rail blockade, with the railway being handed back to Network Rail five hours earlier than planned.
The bridge was moved using two 128-wheeled self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) across a matting bed put down over the tracks by Pod-Trak to provide a level surface. The new bridge was designed by a Design Joint Venture of Mott MacDonald and Systra working for Balfour Beatty VINCI, incorporating local feedback, a wide pedestrian walkway, LED lighting strategy, and new woodland planting around the bridge. The bridge now sits on three structures - an abutment to the West of the existing rail tracks, a pier consisting of two columns on the East of the existing tracks, and an abutment to the East of the pier.
Dan Binns, Project Manager – Saltley Area for Balfour Beatty VINCI, highlighted the complexity of the operation and the reduced impact on rail passengers, stating, "We purposely chose to move the bridge on wheels, so it could be built offline first, then moved across in just five hours, greatly reducing the impact on rail passengers." Steve Powell, HS2’s Head of Delivery, praised the innovative techniques used and the local infrastructure upgrades provided by the new bridge.
The composite bridge is made of a concrete deck cast over steel girders with glass reinforced plastic panels used as permanent formwork. To prepare for the bridge move, a 9,000m2 platform was made, and 62 piles constructed to support concrete structures. Over the next 14 months, the original Aston Church Road bridge will be demolished to create extra space for the HS2 line to pass through, and works will get underway to connect the new bridge to the existing road network.