A 5,600-tonne concrete bridge that will take HS2 under the Coventry-Leamington line near Kenilworth has been rolled into place, in an exercise that took just five and a half hours from start to finish.
It is the third giant structure to be positioned in the space of a fortnight, demonstrating the progress now being made with the project across the south and west Midlands.
The rapid installation of the bridge, measuring 24 yards long and 12 yards wide, was made possible because it was manufactured close to its final position.
The blockade of the Coventry line began on July 29, when it was severed by the removal of 125 yards of track and 188 sleepers, with a section of ground excavated to create the gap.
The new bridge was then moved close to its final position using five 3.8-tonne jacks on a sliding surface designed by civil and structural engineering company Freyssinet, allowing it to be moved on a guiding raft slab.
It was moved at around ten yards per hour into its final position on July 31. The team then backfilled around the structure and had the track back in place ready for the railway to reopen on August 6.
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