ASSEMBLY of the‘m’-shaped double arches that will form the HS2 route’s longest‘green tunnel’has started at Greatworth inWest Northamptonshire.
One-and-a-half miles long, the structure will consist of more than 5000 concrete segments, produced by Stanton Precast at Ilkeston in Derbyshire, and put together on-site.
Five‘green tunnels’are being created along Phase One of the HS2 route.They are so-called because they are constructed by creating a cutting in which the tunnel structure is built, before being covered with earth and landscaped with trees, shrubs and hedgerows to blend into the local surroundings.
Work on the main structure is expected to take around two years. HS2 Ltd says lessons learned during the building of Chipping Warden tunnel have been applied to segment quality control, delivery and installation.