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BY MARK WORGAN

HS2’s tallest bridge is being lifted into position near Birmingham city centre.

The structure, which forms part of the approach to Curzon Street Station, marks a major milestone for the high-speed rail project linking London and Birmingham.

Curzon 2 is one of five viaducts making up the final mile of track leading into the new terminus station.

Once installed, the bridge’s arched steel truss will rise more than 40 metres above ground level – roughly the height of a 10-storey building – creating a prominent new feature on Birmingham’s skyline.

Its central truss, standing 24 metres high, has been built from 670 individual steel sections welded together into triangular units. The bridge has been constructed using weathering steel, designed to darken naturally over time.

The completed structure weighs 4,200 tonnes and will be moved into place in three separate stages. Engineers expect the bridge to reach its final position on Friday 5 June.

When complete, it will sit above an existing Victorian railway viaduct which already stands 17 metres high.

Greg Sugden, HS2’s Head of Delivery for the Curzon approaches, said: “Curzon 2 is designed to reflect Birmingham’s proud industrial heritage, and it will soon become a recognisable landmark on the cityscape – just like the Rotunda and the BT Tower.

“I’m immensely proud of the civil engineers, welders and apprentices that have each played a part in its construction and we stand ready for the final challenge – launching the bridge over the adjacent railway line.”

The bridge has been built over the past three years by around 250 engineers working for HS2’s construction partner Balfour Beatty VINCI.

Construction began in 2023 with the installation of 32 permanent piles, each around 30 metres deep, to reinforce the ground beneath the site.
In 2024, engineers assembled the 150-metre deck on top of the neighbouring Curzon 1 viaduct using more than 500 crane-lifted components.
Once the deck was in place, workers began assembling the bridge’s vast steel truss.

The site posed significant engineering challenges due to its confined location between the River Rea and the existing railway network. Cranes weighing up to 650 tonnes were used to lift steel sections into place, while welders worked day and night at height inside specially fabricated enclosures designed to shield the work from wind and poor weather.

The entire bridge deck and truss will now be slid 180 metres into position using a hydraulic jacking system. The operation will take place in three phases, after which the bridge will rest on four concrete piers spanning the Birmingham to Lichfield railway line.

The first stage involves pushing the bridge 50 metres towards the railway boundary during overnight works to avoid affecting services.
The second phase will require the temporary closure of the Cross City line between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley railway station from 29 to 31 May 2026, while the bridge is moved 93 metres over two railway tracks.

A final 37-metre movement will then secure the structure permanently into place.

Elsewhere along the Curzon approaches route, work continues on the remaining viaducts, including Duddeston Junction, Curzon 1, Lawley Middleway and Curzon 3, which will eventually connect directly to the platforms at Curzon Street Station.

Despite progress on the Birmingham section, substantial work remains across the wider 140-mile HS2 route. The company said its chief executive, Mark Wild, is overseeing a wider reset of the project aimed at delivering the remaining railway as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.