Yesterday HS2 celebrated the breakthrough of a tunnelling machine into its underground Old Oak Common station – marking a key milestone in plans to eventually carry the high-speed line into central London. The tunnel boring machine (TBM) named Lydia finished its near-kilometre long journey into the station box in a move that completes the construction of the Atlas Road Logistics Tunnel. The 853m long tunnel, which runs from the Atlas Road logistics hub, is being built to service the programme to construct the line eastwards towards Euston. It will eventually allow materials required for the Euston Tunnel to be transported to the site without clogging up local roads or disrupting work going on elsewhere at Old Oak Common station HS2’s London tunnels contractor, Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture (SCS JV) constructed the logistics tunnel using a TBM made from components repurposed from a machine previously used to construct London’s Elizabeth Line. The TBM is named Lydia, a name selected by the local community, after Lydia Gandaa – a former teacher at Old Oak Common Primary School. The TBM broke through into the eastern end of the Old Oak Common underground station box, which is currently under construction by a separate joint venture – Balfour Beatty Vinci SYSTRA (BBVS JV). Later this year, SCS JV will lower two additional TBMs into the box and assemble them ready to bring the HS2 line into Euston. Once they are in place BBVS JV will seal the box and continue to construct HS2’s super-hub station. Speaking about the milestone, Malcolm Codling, Project Client Director for HS2 Ltd said: “The completion of the Atlas Road Logistics Tunnel takes us closer along our journey to bring HS2 into central London at Euston. The logistics tunnel is a key part of our plans to enable us to construct the Euston Tunnel and will reduce the construction impact on the local community.” Over the past nine months, TBM Lydia has removed 62,000 tonnes of London Clay, all of which is sent by rail for beneficial reuse across the UK and has installed 535 concrete rings. The segments for the tunnel rings were manufactured by Pacadar UK in Kent. A team of 100 has been working around the clock to complete the tunnel, working in shifts to operate the TBM and the above ground operations. The experienced SCS JV team have also used their expertise to develop more team members at the early stages of their careers, including apprentices and graduates for whom this was their first time constructing a bored tunnel. The logistics tunnel will be used to deliver materials to the two Euston Tunnel TBMs, including over 56,000 concrete tunnel segments manufactured by STRABAG in Hartlepool, and take away the London Clay excavated. Bringing in materials by road and removing the excavated spoil for the Euston Tunnel would have been logistically challenging and would have had significant impact local roads and on the work to construct the station. The logistics tunnel was the optimum solution to enable HS2 to reach Euston. Once the Euston Tunnel is complete and the railway is operational, the logistics tunnel will be backfilled. James Richardson, Managing Director of Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture, said: “The completion of the Atlas Road logistics tunnel paves the way for us to deliver our London tunnels programme to Euston. The tunnel supports our continued commitment to reducing cost and carbon by removing one million lorry journeys off London’s roads.” Following the government’s Network North announcement in October, alternative funding arrangements for the delivery of Euston station are being considered. However, work is continuing with the preparations and design of the railway between Old Oak Common and Euston. HS2 is making significant progress on the construction of the tunnels for the new railway. The Chiltern Tunnel TBMs are due to complete their work by spring, and this will be the second twin bored tunnel that has completed by HS2, alongside the Long Itchington Tunnel. Further north, HS2 is working to complete the Bromford Tunnel. In London, two further TBMs are about to launch, part of the quartet of TBMs boring the Northolt Tunnel. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

hyperTunnel has been successful in winning UK government funding for standout railway innovations at the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE). hyperTunnel’s underpass is one of 16 schemes that will be demonstrated at GCRE’s Dulais Valley site in South Wales in 2024. The underpass will demonstrate hyperTunnel’s swarm construction technique, which uses AI, digital surveying and swarm robotics to effectively 3D print a structure in the ground before any excavation takes place. The result is designed to be an underground construction project that is faster and less expensive to deliver, and which carries less risk, less disruption, less waste and a lower carbon footprint than current cut-and-cover construction techniques. The project aims to provide an economically viable alternative to hazardous level crossings, while improving safety, increasing rail capacity and avoiding inconvenience to road and rail users. hyperTunnel will build a 20-metre-long pedestrian-sized tunnel under a GCRE’s test track, designed to allow the track above to remain open throughout the construction process. “We are delighted that the GCRE sees the same potential in the hyperTunnel method as our partners in the construction industry,” said hyperTunnel co-founder Steve Jordan. “Having spent many hundreds of hours developing our robot fleet in the lab in Basingstoke, the system is now ripe for being proven on a real site, in accelerated test conditions, and which can be visited by interested parties. The GCRE facility is going to be a huge opportunity for us and we can’t wait to get started and to present a feasible technological solution to the longstanding level-crossing issue.” Currently under construction in South Wales, The Global Centre of Rail Excellence is a world class facility for rail research, testing and certification of rolling stock, infrastructure and cutting-edge new technologies currently being developed in South Wales. Located on a 700-hectare site, GCRE will become Europe’s premier site for rail and mobility innovation. It aims to undertake world-class research, testing and certification of innovative new rail technologies, acting as an incubator for pioneering projects. This project is funded by the Department for Business and Trade through the competition ‘GCRE: Railway Construction Innovation Phase 2’ delivered by InnovateUK in collaboration with GCRE. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Engineers this week began a delicate job that will see almost half a kilometre of bridge deck slid into position over the next year, high above the Misbourne Valley in Buckinghamshire, as HS2’s innovative Wendover Dean Viaduct enters a critical new stage of construction. The 450m-long viaduct will be the first major railway bridge in the UK to be built with a ‘double composite’ approach, which uses significantly less carbon-intensive concrete and steel than a more traditional design – and has allowed HS2 to halve the amount of embedded carbon in the structure. It is one of 50 major viaducts on the HS2 project – which is designed to improve connections between London, Birmingham and the North while freeing up space on the most congested southern end of the existing West Coast Main Line. Instead of using solid pre-stressed concrete beams to form the spans between the viaduct piers, the ‘double composite’ structure uses two steel beams sandwiched between two layers of reinforced concrete to create a lightweight and super strong hollow span.  Due to the length of the viaduct, the deck is being assembled in three stages, ranging from 90m to 180m sections, with each one pushed out from the north abutment before the next section is attached behind it. This painstaking process means that the weight of the deck will increase with each push, up from an initial 590 tonnes this week to 3700 tonnes by the end of the year. Tomas Garcia, HS2 Ltd’s Head of Civil Structures said: “Double composite structures maximise the combined strength of steel in tension and concrete in compression. This approach has been tried and tested around the world and it’s great to see it applied on this scale for the first time in the UK at Wendover Dean. “Once complete, HS2 will help enhance the existing rail network by freeing up capacity on the busy West Coast Main Line and almost halving journey times between London and Birmingham. This viaduct will play a crucial role enabling those faster and more reliable services – and I hope it will also inspire other projects around the UK to consider this innovative approach to construction.” The viaduct is being built by HS2 Ltd’s main works contractor, EKFB – a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall – with the manufacture and installation of the beams being led by specialists at Eiffage Metal. A winch is used to push the deck forward at a speed of around 9 metres per hour, sliding across Teflon pads to reduce friction – a material usually found to the surface of a non-stick frying pan. It is the longest deck slide on the HS2 project to date. At this point in the Chilterns the railway will be on a slight gradient, so to help maintain control, the deck – which will eventually weigh the same as 264 double-decker buses – is being pushed slightly uphill, with the finish point approximately 1.8m higher than start point. James Collings, EKFB’s senior engineer, said: “The project team has reached a fundamental milestone in the build of this industry-leading viaduct. We’re progressing well with the first-of-three steel launches being conducted this year and already looking forward to seeing this viaduct come to life. Along with our supply chain partners, Eiffage Metal, we’re proud to be delivering this viaduct safely and to programme.” EKFB worked with their design partner, ASC (a joint venture between Arcadis, Setec and COWI) and architects Moxon on the ‘double composite’ approach which was inspired by structures on the French high speed TGV network. The approach is set to cut the carbon footprint of the structure by 56% – saving almost 13,000 tonnes of embodied carbon – and helping HS2 achieve its goal of halving the amount of embedded carbon in construction. The beams are made of ‘weathering steel’ which naturally fades to a dark brown colour over time and will help match the natural tone of the surrounding countryside. A similar approach – using weathering steel and a double composite structure – is also being taken at the nearby Small Dean Viaduct which is currently at a much earlier stage of construction. Weathering steel gets its characteristic colour from a surface layer of corrosion which protects the steel and removes the need for regular painting. The Wendover Dean Viaduct will be supported by nine evenly spaced piers, some of which will be up to 14 metres high. These consist of a series of hollow pre-cast concrete shells – manufactured in Northern Ireland – which are placed on top of each other and filled with concrete and steel reinforcing. This approach was chosen to enable a crisp, clean external finish to the concrete, cut the amount of work on site and reduce disruption for local residents. The last few months has also seen significant progress at HS2’s other major viaducts, with the first concrete poured for the approach viaducts for Birmingham Curzon Street station, the first beams installed at Thame Valley near Aylesbury and the Delta Junction in North Warwickshire. In total, HS2 is building more than 500 bridging structures – ranging from small road bridges to massive viaducts like record-breaking Colne Valley Viaduct which will become the longest in the UK. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

The start of 2024 sees the emergence of a new brand in the UK highway sector, as Core Highways Group announces it is rebranding as Core Highways, bringing all its subsidiaries together under one brand and revealing a brand-new logo, website, colours and updated values.    This strategic milestone sees the trusted and respected brands of Amberon, Barrier Services, Forest Traffic, JTM Signs and MLP Traffic come together as one.  With over 1,300 staff and more than 1,000 directly employed operatives working in a combined turnover business of £120m pa, Core Highways automatically becomes one of the largest temporary traffic management and barrier companies in the UK, with almost 40 depots across England and Wales, with further natural growth and expansion planned. Lizi Stewart, CEO of Core Highways, explained “Becoming Core Highways means that we can combine our knowledge and expertise for our customers across England and Wales, giving them access to more skills and expertise in temporary traffic management, barrier solutions and events signage.  Our dedicated and knowledgeable team have hundreds of years of experience in providing solutions for customers across England and Wales’ road networks at high and low speed.  As a team we are stronger together, supporting one another and our customers to deliver.  Becoming one will give our customers quicker access us to our deep well of technical excellence as well as our innovation and best practice, such as our Decarbonisation Project Roadmap and our award-winning Digital Care Initiative. She continued “Our business is our people, and by better connecting our passionate, skilled and customer focussed team under the Core Highways brand, we are better able to support our customers and their stakeholders.” Core Highways is a leading provider of temporary traffic management, barrier solutions and events signage with the ability and expertise to deliver across the UK, offering local knowledge on a national scale, from small schemes to major projects. For more information on Core Highways, please visit www.corehighways.com Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals