Harefield’s Moorhall Road has been reopened after HS2 engineers completed works on a 40-metre section of the Colne Valley Viaduct
The timing of the road closure was chosen to align with the school’s summer holidays, minimising disruptions for the local community. During this time, HS2 engineers safely installed eleven segments of the Colne Valley Viaduct, each weighing between 115 to 130 tonnes.
These segments were then further reinforced with internal steel cabling.
The Colne Valley Viaduct will be the UK’s longest railway bridge
Once complete, the Colne Valley Viaduct will be the longest railway bridge in the United Kingdom.
The viaduct will span two miles, covering the Grand Union Canal, River Colne, local roads, and a series of lakes on the outskirts of London, connecting Ruislip to the beginning of the Chiltern tunnels.
Each component of the viaduct is manufactured in a temporary facility located nearby with direct access to the M25 highway.
The majority of the viaduct’s 1000 segments were positioned using a 700-tonne ‘launching girder’, the only of its type in the UK. However, the engineers used a different approach at Moorhall Road to coincide with the school summer holidays when traffic volume is lighter.
HS2 are pleased with the project’s progress
“HS2 will transform journeys across the UK, boosting the economy and unlocking more space on our existing rail network. But it’s also important that we minimise disruption during construction,” said HS2 Ltd’s senior project manager, Billy Ahluwalia.
“That’s why we brought forward the construction of this span, so it could be done during the school summer holidays when we knew traffic would be lighter. It’s great to see the span complete, and I’d like to thank everyone who worked so hard over the last 3-weeks to get it done,” he added.
The Coln Valley Viaduct project is being overseen by Align JV, the primary works contractor of HS2 Ltd. Align JV is a collaboration comprising Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick.
The viaduct has been built into the terrain in certain parts to help it blend into the landscape and reduce its impact on the lakes while matching the natural surroundings.
“Having the flexibility to introduce a crane to complete the span across Moorhall Road during the summer holidays rather than using the launching girder,” said Align’s surface operations director, Derek van Rensburg.
“This minimised the impact on the local community, which is all credit to the Align team involved, and our supply chain partners, in particular VSL, whom we worked with to deliver the work safely,” said Align’s surface operations director, Derek van Rensburg.
