At 6 am on Monday 4th November 2024, the second of two road bridges across the new HS2 route in the Aylesbury area was opened to traffic.
A section of the A418 was closed for a full week while the road was realigned and resurfaced over a new bridge to allow for the construction of HS2.
This new road bridge links Aylesbury and Oxford and spans 103 metres across a cutting situated near Hartwell.
The bridge is a simple construction. 21 U-shaped precast concrete beams were used to create its three spans, with the deck and wing walls cast on-site. The new road realignment stretches 1.1km in total.
Engineers from other utility companies also accompanied the installation with over 10km of power cables, 9km of telecom cables, and 1.5km of gas and water mains being installed or rerouted to allow for construction.
Although the bridge is now open, work on HS2 in this area is far from complete. New drainage and a wider footpath and cycleway alongside the road will also be constructed before attention turns to digging out and aligning the new track formation.
With both major road bridges in the Aylesbury area open to traffic, the local residents can now look forward to local public transport returning to normal, following weeks of disruption while the two bridges were built.
The Aylesbury road bridges are two of the 500 bridge structures included in the HS2 project.
This project encompasses a variety of bridges, from modest footbridges and drainage culverts to pioneering ‘green bridges’ designed for wildlife, and extends to massive viaducts like the Colne Valley viaduct, which holds the record as the UK’s longest viaduct of its type.
Upon completion, the HS2 project is set to enhance travel between London and the West Midlands, as well as create additional capacity on the current West Coast Main Line for increased rail freight and local passenger services.
“The A41 and A418 are two of the most important roads into Aylesbury, so it’s great to have both bridges open to the public. I’d like to thank everyone in our supply chain who worked so hard to complete this work – and of course the local community for their patience during the recent road closures that were required to safely deliver the project.”
HS2 Ltd’s Senior Project Manager, Ben Sebastian-Green
Responses
Never in the field of human construction has so much been spent by so many to benefit so few…………,
I can never understand why the whole of HS2 isn’t built underground – it’s 2024 and surely rather than all this disruption for years on end could have been avoidable?
With both major road bridges in the Aylesbury area open to traffic, the local residents can now look forward to local public transport returning to normal, following weeks of disruption while the two bridges were built. – Err it’s being closed again in just over a week for another full weekend. Ben Sebastian-Green is not a popular man round these parts.
OMG! I shall never question its cost again! Dont spose i will miss the pound (£) or two i might have contributed to the inland revenue over the years for its construction! (The UKs own little space probe)? ‘Beam me up’ Scotty!