HS2 Ltd has released a time-lapse video of the successful modular bridge installation on the M42.
A joint venture of Laing O’Rourke and J Murphy & Sons installed the 65m modular bridge in just two days.
The 2,750t bridge, near what will become HS2’s Interchange station near Solihull, was carried along the motorway on a self-propelled modular transporter.
The 448-wheel transporter took just one hour and 45 minutes to move the bridge span 150m, where it was affixed to a composite concrete deck to complete the overall bridge structure.
Laing O’Rourke subsidiary Expanded built both abutments and deck components using its parent’s modular construction strategy. Meanwhile, Expanded Structures and Cleveland Bridge assembled the bridge from 1,130 tonnes of steel plate girders and 1,610 tonnes of precast and in-situ concrete.
Laing O’Rourke’s Explore Manufacturing made the major structural components, including abutment shells and deck components at its factory in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.
Traditional construction methods would have required several weeks of lane closures on both carriageways, followed by additional weekend and overnight closures, HS2 claimed.
The video can be viewed here:
https://twitter.com/HS2ltd/status/1292868382447022082
