HS2 has completed the first of 32 giant piers for the first Water Orton Viaduct as work ramps up to build the Delta Junction, the project’s most complex network of structures in the West Midlands. HS2’s main works contractor for the West Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) is building the 1,400 metre long northbound and southbound structures, which will connect HS2’s Birmingham Curzon Street Station with Crewe and Manchester. They are part of the Delta Junction, which is a triangular section of the high-speed railway made up of 9 precast segmental viaducts, embankments, and other bridging structures, with around 10km of track crossing a network of motorways, roads and rivers. Reaching 20 metres tall at its highest point, the two Water Orton Viaducts will be amongst the tallest structures along the HS2 route, taking trains over key transport corridors including the M42, the Birmingham to Peterborough rail line and the River Tame. The pier was built in situ with a bespoke formwork designed specifically for the project, and with a fully prefabricated reinforcement cage, assembled in the rebar factory located near Coleshill. The piers will support the deck, which will be built using an innovative construction method and bespoke machinery. The deck segments will be produced at HS2’s nearby outdoor purpose-built Kingsbury factory near Lea Marston. The factory is making a total of 2,742 segments for the entire Delta Junction, generating over 6km of post tensioned viaduct. The segments will be transported to site using haul roads to reduce HS2’s impacts on local roads. To reduce environmental impacts, HS2’s engineers have incorporated Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) – a by-product of the steel manufacturing industry – into the structures as an eco-friendly concrete alternative to a traditional concrete mix, reducing carbon use by more than 60%.  HS2 Senior Project Manager for Delta Junction, Sam Hinkley said: “This is another key moment for HS2 in the West Midlands as work ramps up on one of the most complex sections of the whole route. The Delta Junction is HS2’s key interchange where the new zero-carbon high speed railway will connect between London, the Midlands and the North. “Minimising disruption to local communities in this area has been a key consideration in our planning, including the use of innovative pre-cast construction techniques, and haul roads to take lorries off local roads.” After the piers are constructed, the viaduct spans will be built by raising each segment from a temporary suspension tower erected on top of each pier. When each span is complete, the suspension tower will be disassembled and moved further along the viaduct to build the next span. An innovative ‘match-casting’ technique means that each viaduct segment is cast against the following segment in a production line, creating a seamless viaduct deck when installed. Each segment is uniquely precise and adjustable by as little as 5mm. This approach – where each segment is poured against the previous one – ensures the whole arch fits perfectly when assembled on site. David Waite, Construction Director at Balfour Beatty VINCI said: “Witnessing the removal of the shuttering to reveal the first completed pier for Water Orton Viaduct was an important occasion for the 1,100 people who make up the Delta workforce. “With the production line at the Kingsbury pre-cast factory now in full swing, we will start to see the viaduct take shape over the coming months, with the first span due to be completed early next year.” Once built, the area underneath the viaduct will be landscaped to provide a connected and accessible area with tree planting, new wildlife habitats, footpaths and cycle routes. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

Old car parts, radiators and shopping trolleys are being given a new lease of life in the construction of Britain’s new railway – HS2. The UK recycled steel initiative, which is helping HS2 to cut carbon in construction, is also supporting hundreds of jobs in South Wales, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Over the last two years, the UK steel industry has benefitted from a pipeline of orders worth over £170m from HS2’s construction partners building the first phase of the high-speed railway linking London and the West Midlands. As the backbone to HS2’s two-decade construction programme, over one million tonnes of steel are forecast to be needed for standard construction materials, a further 200,000 tonnes for steel rail, switches and slabtrack, and an additional 15,000 tonnes for rolling stock.  Visiting CELSA Steel UK’s Cardiff headquarters, a UK steel provider to HS2, Ruth Todd Chief Commercial Officer at HS2 Ltd said: “HS2’s vast demand for steel over the next 20 years, as we extend Britain’s new railway to Manchester and the East Midlands, is a lifeline for this vital UK industry and stimulates future growth potential. “As I’ve seen here today, HS2’s supplier contracts with CELSA Steel UK are already supporting hundreds of jobs in Cardiff, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Furthermore, the recyclable and retraceable products they supply aligns to our commitment to cut carbon in construction, as we strive to ensure HS2 is one of the most environmentally responsible infrastructure projects ever delivered in the UK.” CELSA Steel UK is the UK’s largest manufacturer of steel reinforcement and a driving force behind new sustainability standards for the industry. 750 staff work at the two Cardiff-based sites where recycled scrap metal is melted in an electric arc furnace to produce 80% less carbon emissions than basic oxygen steelmaking. The molten steel is then turned in to billets and rolled to make reinforcing bar (rebar) for use on HS2 construction sites. CELSA Steel UK transports high volumes of its materials and products by rail, not road, for the bulk of their journeys, including the scrap metal collected from its scrapyards in Cardiff, Swansea, Rotherham, Bristol and Sunderland. Gabriella Nizam, Head of Sustainability and Strategy at CELSA UK said: “HS2 recognise the value of CELSA Steel UK’s low carbon steel, and we’re delighted our products are supporting the construction of a railway that will deliver zero carbon journeys for millions of people. “Our steel is produced in an Electric Arc Furnace, with 98% of our raw material being UK sourced scrap metal. Our commitment to circularity combined with our sustainable production process, establishes us as a leader in environmentally friendly steel production in the UK. While our steel is already low carbon, we are striving to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and becoming a net positive company by 2050.” The rebar, manufactured in Cardiff, is transported to UK sites managed by British firm ROM GROUP, part of the CELSA GROUP, where it is cut, shaped, and bent to meet the bespoke requirements set by HS2’s construction partners. Over the last two years, almost 20,000 tonnes of ROM/CELSA’s recycled British steel has helped to build HS2, and the orders keep coming. A 2,000-tonne order is a ‘big deal’ for the 100-strong team working at ROM Ltd.’s Sheffield factory, and around 140,000 tonnes of future orders are already in the pipeline from just one of HS2’s four civils construction partners. The current scale of demand means ROM Ltd.’s Sheffield Brightside facility is almost exclusively supplying rebar for HS2. The potential to deliver a further 140,000 tonnes from the site, for just one HS2 contractor, would account for around 80% of the site’s total output over the next three years. Brian Traynor, Managing Director of ROM GROUP said: “HS2 brought some much needed demand for ROM GROUP during the pandemic, as the orders kept on coming.  We’ve subsequently invested over £2million in new equipment at our Sheffield facility to ensure we can maintain demand and sustain future growth. “There’s a great sense of pride in seeing the steel our workforce has precision cut and bent being used to build the railway, and we hope that continues into the next decade and beyond as HS2 heads north.” The boost in HS2 orders is also being felt at ROMTECH’s prefabrication facility in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. To date, more than 8,000 tonnes of rebar, manufactured at CELSA’s Cardiff mill, has been welded by a team of 40 specialists to create bespoke prefabricated piling cages each weighing up to ten tonnes and spanning two metre widths. From the East Midlands factory, each piling cage is labelled and shipped to HS2 construction sites where they are used to strengthen the ground ready for the construction of bridges, viaducts, and tunnels along the route linking London and the West Midlands. Gareth Stace, Director General of UK Steel, said: “We are proud that UK-made steel is being used to build HS2. With the potential for two decades more orders, HS2’s investment in UK recycled steel should be emulated by many other major infrastructure projects. “By buying UK-made steel, HS2 boosts supply chains and jobs across the country, from Wales to Yorkshire. Choosing domestic steel also means HS2 hits corporate social responsibility obligations and cuts even more carbon emissions by transporting the recycled steel by rail. “HS2 is core to the fabric of the UK steel industry, which has around 40,000 employees and feeds into an extra 50,000 supply chain and community jobs.” To date, over 3,000 UK-based businesses have won work on HS2 and £23 billion has been contracted into the supply chain. A workforce of nearly 30,000 are in jobs supporting HS2’s vast construction programme, and thousands more are employed in offices and factories across the UK supplying the materials, products and services needed. HS2’s construction programme is a shot in the arm for UK plc, and the Government’s commitment to extend the railway to the north provides a promising future for British industry and future

HS2 has completed a ‘marathon’ construction operation at Streethay near Lichfield as part of an innovative project to pave the way for Britain’s new high-speed line. The operation – which utilised the latest low-carbon design – involved excavating 14,000 tonnes of earth, building a 140 metre retaining wall and moving a 2,600 tonne bridge deck 130 metres into place under the South Staffordshire freight railway. The work was carried out during a 10 week blockade. It was completed by HS2’s civils contractor in the West Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI, and designers Mott MacDonald as part of a Design Joint Venture with SYSTRA (MMSDJV), together with teams from 18 specialist supply chain companies. At the end of July, the 2,600 tonne bridge deck, which had been cast on land adjacent to the railway was moved 130 metres into position using self-propelled modular transporters. Since then, each side of the bridge was backfilled, the rail tracks were reinstated, with the railway line was successfully handed back to Network Rail on Wednesday 16 August and now reopened. The 25 metres long and 18 metres wide Streethay overbridge sits within HS2’s Streethay cutting and will enable HS2 trains to travel under the existing railway between Birmingham and Crewe. Through design development, Mott MacDonald engineers were able to reduce the total length of wall structures for the railway at Streethay from 1.6 kilometres to 420 metres, meaning 80% less concrete is needed – saving around 420,000 tonnes of carbon, supporting HS2’s ambition to cut carbon on the project. The Streethay bridge sits on top of the larger 420 metre long retaining wall structure which will have two additional bridges crossing it – the south bound A38 slip road bridge, and the Rykneld Bridge which carries the A38 north bound slip road and the A38 north and south bound carriageway. At its peak, over 150 people worked on the complex construction operation, with teams from 18 specialist companies, delivering design, surveys, piling works, bridge build, concrete pouring, crane operations, reinforcements, modular transportation, track and systems removal and reinstatement. The work was delivered in parallel to the construction of the nearby Fulfen Wood bridge, which involved moving a giant 6,200 tonne single span structure under the West Coast Main Line – the UK’s heaviest drive to install an intersection bridge. Caroline Warrington, Senior Project Manager at HS2 Ltd said: “This is a fantastic example of a project within a project at HS2, pulling together teams from 18 specialist supply chain companies from the West Midlands as well as other regions, to deliver a complex construction operation. These are some of the many companies that are helping to build Britain’s new zero carbon railway, supporting thousands of jobs right across the country. “Unlike the Fulfen Wood bridge structure, which was constructed entirely off site, the Streethay bridge walls under the railway embankment had to be constructed during the blockade. This required a 72 day blockade, making it more of a marathon than a sprint!” David Millar, Rail Interface Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI said: “The successful delivery of this complex and challenging piece of engineering near Lichfield is another proud moment for Balfour Beatty VINCI on the HS2 project. “It’s only been possible thanks to the skill, dedication and support shown by the project team over the past few years, including our supply chain. Together, we’ve had to work around existing transport infrastructure, including the South Staffordshire freight railway and the A38, making this achievement even more rewarding.” Mark Jordan, Mainline Design Director at Mott MacDonald Systra Design Joint Venture: “We’re immensely proud of the collaborative effort to get the design for this critical structure and operation ready for HS2.  It’s no small task to coordinate milestones like the Streethay bridge, with expertise from our geotechnical and structural engineering teams delivering design to meet the interfacing requirements of both HS2 and Network Rail, and innovation to enable off-site construction and transportation of the 2,600 tonne structure by Self Propelled Modular Transport.” Prior to the railway blockade, retaining walls were installed on either side of the railway, enabling the areas to be excavated. The bridge deck was constructed on land adjacent to the existing railway, 130 metres from its final position. Once the railway was closed to freight trains, the track and embankment were removed. Bachy Soletanche Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering joint venture then installed an additional 76 secant piles measuring 1.3 metres diameter and 30 metres deep, linking to the piles they installed prior to the blockade, to create two retaining walls which act as the walls for the bridge.  A concrete capping beam was installed over the retaining walls, then the bridge was moved into place using self-propelled modular transporters with 344 wheels. Concrete was poured to attach the deck to the capping beam, the embankment was backfilled using 2,500 tonnes of structural backfill, on either side of the bridge, before the railway line was reinstated. The 18 companies which delivered the project were: The next works in this area include the construction of two HS2 over bridges which will run under the A38. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals