Key HS2 bridge foundation work starts on A38
New Rykneld Street bridge will allow A38 to pass over HS2 line near Lichfield, Staffordshire
An engineering team for BBV, the Balfour Beatty VINCI joint venture tasked with delivering the bridge, is currently working beneath the A38 at Streethay to install 88 concrete piles, which will support the bridge. The piles, ranging from 20 to 27m deep, are crucial to the foundation of the structure.
In preparation for this work, a temporary 320m-long stretch of the A38 has been built and is now in use.
David Perry, senior project manager, HS2, highlighted the complexities of the operation: "Carrying out a complex engineering operation of this scale in close proximity to a live carriageway comes with a unique set of challenges, requiring a multi-stage and collaborative approach from everyone involved."
The 90.5m-long bridge is the third and final structure to be built in a 455m-long cutting, alongside the A38 Southbound Slip Overbridge and the Streethay Overbridge. Once the bridge deck is installed in late 2025, the realigned section of the A38 will return to its original route, allowing HS2 to pass underneath.
Around 750,000 cubic metres of earth will be excavated during construction and reused to create embankments along the HS2 route.
Zachary Walker, project manager at BBV, added: “We’re delivering a series of complex structures that will allow HS2 to pass underneath the A38, its slip lanes, and the South Staffordshire freight railway near Lichfield.”
The bridge is being designed by a joint venture between Mott MacDonald and SYSTRA, with engineering work being carried out by BBV and SB3, a partnership between Bachy Soletanche and Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering.
Once complete, HS2 will connect the West Midlands to London with dedicated high-speed services, supporting further travel north via the West Coast Main Line.
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