HS2's "Bellingham Bridge" takes shape in Birmingham
HS2 has completed the four huge piers of HS2’s Curzon 2 bridge, marking a significant construction milestone on the sequence of viaducts that will take high-speed trains in and out of Birmingham.
The bridge, which has been nicknamed “Bellingham Bridge” in honour of England superstar and Stourbridge-born Jude Bellingham, is the tallest structure in the one-mile stretch of connected viaducts being built through the city’s industrial heartland.
It will carry high-speed trains over the existing Victorian brick rail viaduct, with a 25-metre-high curved truss displaying a vibrant light installation which will create a new icon on the city’s skyline.
Work began on the four piers in Autumn 2023, with each structure now standing 16 metres tall. Assembly of the deck and the curved truss in weathering steel, has now started and is set to complete by next Spring.
The 150-metre-long deck is being assembled on top of the seven piers of the adjacent Curzon 1 viaduct, with around 130 individual parts lifted by crane. The entire deck and truss structure, which weighs over 4,000 tonnes, will then be slid 190 metres into place onto the Curzon 2 piers using a jacking system. This operation is set to take place over 12 days in Summer 2025.
The viaduct design includes a unique light installation, designed by British artist Liz West, which will introduce a dynamic colour palette to the apertures of the steel truss, framing views of the city. Titled Out of the Blue, the proposed public artwork will establish the bridge as a stunning feature of the city’s landscape both during the day and at night, when the artwork will come to life.
As the gateway to Birmingham, high speed trains will travel out of the west portal of the 3.5 mile Bromford Tunnel at Washwood Heath and onto the one mile long stretch of five connected viaducts - which are Duddeston Junction, Curzon 1, Curzon 2, Lawley Middleway and Curzon 3 which links onto the platforms of Curzon Street Station.
The Curzon approach viaducts are being built by HS2’s West Midlands contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI, with a team of more than 250 people, including engineering apprentices, steel welders, steel fixers and joiners.
The design for the Curzon Street approaches section has been developed by a Design Joint Venture of Mott MacDonald and SYSTRA and ourselves as architects, all working for HS2’s civils contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI joint venture.
A truss bridge is light but strong, composed of connected elements that form triangular units, and constructed using a relatively small amount of material. This makes the truss form ideal to assemble offline and then launch from one end and in one piece across the existing railway viaduct below.
The truss 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 viaduct deck itself will carry three parallel high speed rail tracks over the existing east-west rail line.
When complete, HS2 will improve connections between London and the West Midlands, with trains running further north on existing lines. This new high speed railway will create quicker and far more reliable journeys, driving economic growth while crucially freeing up space for more local trains on the most congested part of the existing West Coast Main Line.