The replacement of a key local bridge in Buckinghamshire could mean the future reopening of a disused freight line.
One of over 500 bridging structures along the HS2 route, the Edgcott Road bridge will carry traffic across the new high-speed railway and an existing, but disused, freight line.
The freight line runs from Aylesbury Vale Parkway, running alongside HS2 for five miles between the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton and the village of Calvert.
The line was built in 1899 as part of the Great Central Railway, and also carried passenger services between London Marylebone, Nottingham and Sheffield until the 1960s.
The freight line may even be upgraded in future to start carrying local passenger services once again.
At 112 metres from abutment to abutment, the Edgcott Road bridge will be wide enough for both the high-speed and freight lines to run side by side. This would not previously have been possible with the old, smaller bridge.
HS2 has reached a significant milestone in the construction of the new bridge, with engineers completing the bridge lift earlier this week. The steel beams were welded together on site before being lifted in six large sections over the course of the last month.
The construction work is being carried out by HS2 Ltd’s main works contractor, EKFB – a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall – working alongside Eiffage Metal, Allerton Steel and Osprey.
HS2 Ltd Senior Project Manager Hugo Rebelo said: “It’s great to see the first beams in position for Edgcott Road bridge. This unusually long structure will cross both the HS2 line and the currently disused freight line – keeping open the opportunity for it to be upgraded for local passenger trains in the future.”
Two 6.8-metre-high concrete piers and abutments on either side of the bridge will support the 610-tonne steel beams, before a reinforced concrete deck is laid on top to support the road above.
Image credit: HS2
