Foundation work starts on bridge taking main road over HS2 between Birmingham and West Coast Main Line

Foundation work for a new bridge that will take HS2 under a dual carriageway in Staffordshire has begun.

Engineers have started working underneath the A38 at Streethay, on the outskirts of Lichfield, to create the foundations – which will be between 20 and 27 metres deep - of the Rykneld Street bridge. 88 piles will be sunk to support the weight of the structure which will eventually carry the road.

A temporary 320-metre stretch of the A38 has been built while work is carried out.

The bridge deck is due to be installed in late 2025, after which the road will be moved back to its original position with space for HS2 trains to eventually pass underneath as they travel between Birmingham Curzon Street and the West Coast Main Line at Handscare Junction.

Once complete Rykneld Street bridge will be 90.5 metres long midway along a 455-metre-long cutting for the high-speed line.

HS2 trains will eventually pass under three bridges at the site: the A38 dual carriageway; its slip laines and the South Staffordshire freight line.

Engineers will excavate around 750,000 cubic metres of earth during the process of building the bridges which will be reused to form embankments along the HS2 route.