Construction work has officially been completed on Curzon 2 – the tallest bridge on the new HS2 network – which is situated just outside Birmingham city centre.
Final checks are now underway ahead of its impending launch over the Cross City railway line, marking a new milestone for the high-speed rail project and showing significant progress.
HS2 celebrates completion of tallest bridge ahead of complex launch operation
© HS2 Ltd
The new structure is part of the Curzon approaches, a network of five viaducts that form the final mile of the journey towards HS2’s Curzon Street Station. It stands at 24 metres in height, and is composed of 670 individual steel sections welded to form triangular shaped units.
Built using weathering steel, the 4,200-tonne bridge will shortly be moved over the course of three launch phases, and is expected to reach its final position on Friday 5 June, where it will be installed over an existing 17-metre-tall Victorian railway viaduct.
Once locked in place, the tip of the bridge’s arched truss will reach more than 40-metres in height – the equivalent of a 10-storey building.
Greg Sugden, HS2’s Head of Delivery for the Curzon approaches, said:
Curzon 2 is designed to reflect Birmingham’s proud industrial heritage, and it will soon become a recognisable landmark on the cityscape – just like the Rotunda and the BT Tower.
I’m immensely proud of the civil engineers, welders and apprentices that have each played a part in its construction and we stand ready for the final challenge – launching the bridge over the adjacent railway line.
Taking place over the course of three years; work on the super-structure has necessitated the use of 250 engineers working for Balfour Beatty VINCI. Work first began in 2023 with the installation of 32 permanent piles, each around 30 metres deep. In 2024, the bridge’s 150-metre-long deck was built on top of the seven piers of the adjacent Curzon 1 viaduct, with over 500 individual parts lifted by crane. Once in place, the team began the task of assembling the truss using 4,200 tonnes of steel.
Now complete, the entire deck and truss structure will be slid 180 metres as part of a three-phase operation. Once in place, it will rest upon four concrete piers, two either side of the Birmingham – Lichfield railway line.
During the first stage of the operation, which will take place at night to avoid impact on passenger services, Curzon 2 will be pushed forward 50 metres to the boundary of the railway line.
The second stage will then require a short closure of the Cross City line, between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley, as the viaduct is pushed over twin railway tracks – a distance of 93 metres. The closure will be in place from Friday 29th May – Sunday 31st May 2026.
Finally, a 37-metre push will ensure the structure is docked and securely locked into position on all four piers.
Elsewhere, progress is being made on the five connected viaducts that form the Curzon approaches, marking out the route of the railway towards the new terminus station at Curzon Street:
- Duddeston Junction – the first stage of a six-phase launch was successfully completed on 2-4 May 2026, and the second launch will take place later this year
- Curzon 1 – When Curzon 2 launches, the next phase of works on Curzon 1 will commence (Curzon 2 is currently resting on the piers of Curzon 1)
- Curzon 2 – Structurally complete and ready for launch
- Lawley Middleway– Phase one launch (112-metre-long-section) successfully completed in August 2025, with phases two and three now currently underway
- Curzon 3 – which links onto the platforms of Curzon Street Station – the concrete deck works at the station end are now complete, with construction over Digbeth canal will begin, set to begin later this year following completion of the steel piers either side of the canal