HS2 gets green light for ‘exciting’ Birmingham viaduct

Birmingham City Council has approved plans for a 150-metre section of viaduct to carry HS2 high-speed trains into the city’s Curzon Street Station.

Client HS2 Ltd obtained Schedule 17 consent for the Curzon No. 2 Viaduct – also called the Bellingham Bridge after Birmingham-born footballer Jude Bellingham – which will be the tallest of a sequence of structures taking high-speed trains into the city.

“This is an exciting construction method, which we believe will be among the longest bridge launches of its type ever delivered in the UK,” said HS2 Ltd senior project manager David King.

The viaduct section will include a public light artwork, Out of the Blue by British artist Liz West, which is designed to become a distinctive new feature in the city’s night skyline.

The project, to be delivered by the Balfour Beatty-Vinci design joint venture (JV), consists of a gently curved truss in weathering steel, which will carry HS2 above a Victorian brick rail viaduct.

HS2 Ltd stated yesterday (24 May) that the Bellingham Bridge will reach 40 metres into the air and rest at least 17 metres above the ground, carrying three parallel high-speed rail tracks over the existing east-west rail line.

Consisting of connected elements that form triangular units, the truss bridge has been designed to wrap around the viaduct, extending the bottom of the steel to wrap underneath the viaduct deck and forming a visual connection to the steel girders of the adjacent structures.

The nodes where the diagonal members meet will have curved corners to provide longevity to the steelwork while softening the silhouette of the bridge.

Closer to Curzon Street, the tracks will split further to serve the seven platforms being built at the station.

HS2 trains crossing the truss bridge will leave the city towards the Washwood Heath Depot to the north-east of the city centre, where trains that are out of use will be maintained, serviced and stored.

Check out what other articles we’ve shared about HS2 on our website.