A record-breaking slide on the High Speed 2 project

4 April 2023 - Projects update and handover - United Kingdom

A year and a half of meticulous preparation for an operation lasting 34 hours and, as a bonus, a probable world record for length for this type of operation for the teams of the Balfour Beatty – VINCI consortium working on the High Speed 2 (HS2) project in the UK.

The railway project in which VINCI Construction Grands Projets, VINCI Construction Terrassement Grands Projets and VINCI Construction UK are participating has been the scene of the millimetre-by-millimetre installation of a 12,600 t bridge, using a very specific process perfectly mastered by the teams at Freyssinet (VINCI Construction): sliding into place, or autoripage. A structure is slid along the ground, on a bed of bentonite. The Marston Box Bridge, under construction near the motorway was moved 164 m and now spans the M42 motorway in the heart of Warwickshire. This technical feat, was achieved thanks to the expertise of Freyssinet, which designed the general plan of action (starting and final positions) and the temporary structures (guide plate, pusher), and led the operation. Once completed, the bridge, will be 190 m in length, and enable the high-speed line, to cross the motorway to head north to Crewe or south towards London and, in particular, Old Oak Common railway station, the construction of which, entrusted to the same consortium, was launched in 2022.

Read the announcement of the signing of the contract for the construction and delivery of Old Oak Common station