Engineers working on the West Midlands section of HS2 are preparing to slide the second major viaduct over the M6 motorway near Chelmsley Wood, in what represents one of the most complex engineering operations on the project to date. Contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) will begin installation of the first 107-metre section of the 320-metre West deck of the M6 South viaduct on 11th April 2026, using a giant hydraulic jack to pull the 1,250-tonne weathering-steel structure across concrete piers - a process expected to take approximately two days per section.
The West desk, which will ultimately carry high-speed trains towards Birmingham, is being assembled in four sections, one more than the East deck, due to space constraints and the curve of the loop road at the site. The operation is designed to minimise disruption, with only the M6 junction 4 southbound slip road closing for the slide, whilst the main carriageway remains open to traffic. When BBV achieved this same feat with the East deck last year, it marked a UK first in civil engineering. A similar approach is being applied here, building on the experience and techniques developed during those earlier operations.
The M6 viaducts form part of HS2's Delta Junction - a complex network of 13 viaducts, flyovers, and elevated trackwork east of Birmingham, where the high-speed line crosses local roads, floodplain, and existing transport routes between the M6 and M42. Whilst the milestone marks genuine progress on the 140-mile London to Birmingham route, HS2 Ltd. Chief Executive Mark Wild continues to lead a comprehensive programme reset aimed at delivering the remaining works as efficiently as possible and at the lowest reasonable cost.