IT was announced in early December that the 163 metrelong (178 yards) Highfurlong Brook Viaduct near Aston le Walls in Northamptonshire had become the first HS2 structure to have all of its deck beams installed.
One of more than 50 major viaducts being built as part of the project, it consists of seven spans and crosses Highfurlong Brook and its floodplain at a height of nine metres (30 feet). Each of the spans contain four beams weighing up to 56 tonnes, which were lifted into position over a two-month period. The viaduct deck itself and the parapets will be among the next phases of work.
November saw over 2000 cubic metres (over 6500 cubic feet) of concrete poured to create the first two 90 metre (295 feet) deck sections of Curzon Viaduct No. 3, one of five connected structures which will form part of the approach to HS2’s Curzon Street station in Birmingham.