A key milestone in the construction of HS2 has been passed with the installation of 83 concrete beams for a bridge over the West Coast Main Line at Carol Green near Kenilworth in Warwickshire.

The bridge is 91 metres wide, and each beam is 19 metres long. 81 of the beams each weigh 18.1 tonnes and two beams weigh 33 tonnes, giving a total weight of 1,532.1 tonnes.

To reduce construction traffic through Balsall Common road and minimise disruption for local communities, during the construction of HS2, the bridge will be part of a route for HS2 construction vehicles from the Aston Martin roundabout to Burton Green across the West Coast Main Line.

Installation of the beams required a team of 30 people from HS2’s construction partner Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV).

The beams are made of pre-cast concrete manufactured in Asfordby near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire by a specialist civil and structural engineering partnership FTB JV, a joint venture between Freyssinet, Tierra Armada and Roger Bullivant.

Completion of the bridge is expected by autumn 2025, with the final phase of construction being the installation of parapet walls and acoustic barriers, and backfilling and landscaping.

Construction of HS2 is taking place at many sites along the route between London and Birmingham, including the 880-metre-long viaduct across the Thame Valley in Buckinghamshire, and boring 27 miles of twin-bore tunnels along the 140-mile line

It takes an immense amount of skill and precision to carry out such a challenging feat of engineering and to construct these colossal structures. We’re proud to have reached this stage of the bridge’s completion ahead of schedule, which is testament to the entire team.

Thank you to everyone involved onsite as we continue to pave the way for Britain’s new high-speed line.

Jack King, HS2 Project Manager