{"id":90484,"date":"2021-03-17T08:33:19","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T08:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=90484"},"modified":"2021-03-17T08:33:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T08:33:19","slug":"hs2-rail-viaduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/hs2-rail-viaduct\/90484\/","title":{"rendered":"HS2: Work begins on UK\u2019s longest rail viaduct"},"content":{"rendered":"

HS2<\/a> contractors have begun work on the UK\u2019s longest railway bridge, with a team of engineers sinking the first of almost 300 piles that will form the foundations for the Colne Valley Viaduct<\/h2>\n

The viaduct will be almost a kilometre longer than the Forth Rail Bridge and carry trains travelling at speeds of up to 200mph.<\/p>\n

The main deck of the viaduct will be built in sections at a temporary factory nearby before being assembled from north to south.<\/p>\n

Set low in the landscape, the design was inspired by the flight of a stone skipping across the water, with a series of elegant spans, some up to 80m long, carrying the railway around 10m above the surface of the lakes, River Colne and Grand Union Canal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The structure will be supported by 56 piers, with the widest spans reserved for where the viaduct crosses the lakes and narrower spans for the approaches.<\/p>\n

This design was chosen to enable views across the landscape, minimise the viaduct\u2019s footprint on the lakes and help complement the natural surroundings.<\/p>\n

HS2 has worked closely with Affinity Water<\/a> and the Environment Agency<\/a> to monitor water quality and agree working methods. These will be monitored by a team of specialist engineers during construction<\/a> in order to protect the natural environment.<\/p>\n

An extensive programme of test piling has already been completed with engineers sinking 12piles at two locations with geological and structural data from these tests fed back into the design of the viaduct. This has resulted in a 10-15% reduction in the depth of the piles and associated time and cost savings.<\/p>\n

Over the next year, engineers from HS2 Ltd\u2019s main works contractor Align JV \u2013 a team made up of Bouygues Travaux Publics<\/a>, Sir Robert McAlpine<\/a>, and VolkerFitzpatrick<\/a> \u2013 will construct 292 piles under the ground to support the viaduct piers.<\/p>\n

A concrete pile cap will support the pier which will, in turn, support the full 6,000-tonne weight of the bridge structure above.<\/p>\n

Instead of hammering the piles into the ground, holes will be bored before being backfilled to create the pile.<\/p>\n

‘The most striking element of HS2’<\/h3>\n

Align\u2019s project director, Daniel Altier, said: \u201cI have no doubt that the viaduct will become one, if not the most striking element of HS2 phase 1 once complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way it will be constructed is going to be equally fascinating for engineers young and old.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sections for the deck will be fabricated at our main construction site<\/a> to the west of London just inside the M25, and using a huge launching girder, the deck will be formed from north to south, along the line of the route, thereby keeping unnecessary construction traffic off the roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am delighted that today we have reached this important milestone in the viaduct\u2019s construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

HS2 Ltd\u2019s Central 1 project, Client Rohan Perin, added: \u201cThe Colne Valley Viaduct will be one of HS2\u2019s most iconic structures and it\u2019s great to see work now starting in earnest.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019d like to thank the whole team for the huge amount of work they\u2019ve done to get us to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HS2 contractors have begun work on the UK\u2019s longest railway bridge, with a team of engineers sinking the first of almost 300 piles that will form the foundations for the Colne Valley Viaduct.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[304],"tags":[811,676,997,636,279,473,579,947,928,280,802],"stakeholder_rel_tag":[],"contributor_rel_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-90484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-planning-construction-news","7":"tag-concrete","8":"tag-construction","9":"tag-development","10":"tag-engineering","11":"tag-environment","12":"tag-hs2","13":"tag-infrastructure","14":"tag-london","15":"tag-rail-network","16":"tag-transport","17":"tag-water-management"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHS2: Work begins on UK\u2019s longest rail viaduct<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HS2 have 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