Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, HS2 engineers successfully installed the first section of the new Saltley Viaduct, which will form a bridge over the Birmingham to Derby railway lines.

The old Saltley Viaduct closed to vehicles and pedestrians in May 2026. It was then demolished to make way for a new, taller structure that will allow high-speed trains to pass underneath it safely.

HS2’s construction partner, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) is building and installing the replacement viaduct. The construction is being carried out in phases because of the complexity of crossing the Birmingham to Derby rail lines, the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal, and the River Rea. In the future, it will also cross the future HS2 railway line.

Engineers assembled the first steel section on land adjacent to the location of the original viaduct. They then used self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) to drive the 55-metre-long structure into place over the Birmingham to Derby railway lines during the Bank Holiday weekend – a distance of about 125 metres.

Network Rail worked with the contractor to deliver the first phase of work last weekend, while the railway was closed over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The railway re-opened to passengers this morning (Tuesday 1 September).

Engineers are now assembling the second span, which is 35 metres long. They will lower it into place by crane in October.

The third and fourth spans, which cross the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal, will be installed later this year. Engineers will also build a new bridge over the River Rea.

The new Saltley Viaduct is the latest HS2 structure to emerge in this area of Birmingham, after BBV engineers safely manoeuvred the first 55-metre span over an existing rail line.

We chose the same technique used on the neighbouring Aston Church Road bridge two years ago, where the span was assembled next to the railway, before being driven into place on wheels to minimise the impact on rail passengers as much as possible.

Dan Binns, Senior Project Manager for Balfour Beatty VINCI