HS2 engineers have moved a 1,631 tonne steel bridge into place over Lawley Middleway in Birmingham four days ahead of schedule

This is the next step in building the one mile stretch of five connected viaducts bringing high-speed trains into Birmingham Curzon Street Station

The operation was successfully delivered by HS2’s main works contractor in the West Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) and their bridge move contractor Mammoet.

To minimise disruption to road users, the huge span was moved during night-time road closures - moving between 18 and 24 metres every night using a special skidding system - ensuring that the road has remained open during the day.

From the first day of the move on 15 August, the team - helped by favourable weather conditions - were able to get ahead of programme, meaning the road will be back to normal from 6am on Friday 22 August instead of the planned full reopening on Monday 25 August.

HS2’s head of delivery for the Curzon Approaches, Greg Sugden, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the team, and the culmination of two years’ work including detailed design, planning, construction and delivery of this highly technical launch operation.

“It is the first steel structure to be put in place for the one mile stretch of viaducts on the approach to Birmingham Curzon Street Station – a pivotal part of the high-speed railway now starting to take shape.”

Rather than building the bridge in situ, disruption to road users was drastically reduced by constructing the steel span on land next to Digbeth Canal over the last two years. On 15 August, heavy lifting engineering experts Mammoet rotated the bridge 90 degrees using two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs).

Over the following four nights, a skidding system - with a jacking push/pull mechanism, was used alongside the SPMTs to move the structure into place across Lawley Middleway. This combination of techniques is rarely used and is a first for BBV on the HS2 project.

Lawley Middleway bridge forms part of the railway’s approach to Birmingham, with high-speed trains travelling out of the west portal of the 3.5 mile Bromford Tunnel at Washwood Heath and onto a one mile stretch of five connected viaducts - Duddeston Junction, Curzon 1, Curzon 2, Lawley Middleway and Curzon 3 which links onto the platforms of Birmingham Curzon Street Station.

Now at peak productivity, work will progress on this section of the railway with the second Bromford Tunnel breakthrough, Curzon 2 viaduct move, first Duddeston Junction Viaduct move, reopening of Aston Church Road, demolition of the old Aston Church Road bridge and start of construction of the new Saltley Viaduct – all set to happen over the next 12 months.