HS2 engineers have finished building Curzon 2, the tallest bridge on the new high-speed network, with final checks completed ahead of a complex operation to launch it into position over the Cross City railway line near Birmingham city centre. The bridge forms part of the Curzon approaches, a series of five viaducts carrying the final mile of track into HS2's new Curzon Street station.
The structure's striking 24-metre-high truss is built from 670 individual welded steel sections using weathering steel, which will darken naturally over time. Weighing 4,200 tonnes, the bridge was moved into final position over three launch phases, eventually coming to rest above an existing Victorian viaduct - with the tip of its arched truss reaching more than 40 metres high (roughly the height of a 10-storey building).
A team of 250 engineers working for HS2's construction partner, Balfour Beatty VINCI, spent three years on the build, from installing 32 deep piles in 2023 through to assembling the truss using cranes capable of lifting up to 650 tonnes. The final stages of the launch required a short closure of the Cross City line between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley over the weekend of 29-31 May, as the structure was pushed into its locked position across all four piers.