Buckinghamshire Council has approved the design of the HS2 Small Dean Viaduct which will allow trains to run across the A413 and local rail lines south of Wendover.
The approval of the 345m long viaduct is the latest major structure to gain design approval, as construction continues to ramp up on the UK’s new high speed railway.
Set low into the landscape, the viaduct’s enormous girders will be made from weathering steel, which naturally ages to a characteristically dark russet finish to echo the natural tones of the surrounding landscape.
Designed to be seen from close-up, the viaduct is one of only two places in the Chilterns where the HS2 route will be above ground level, with the underside of the viaduct just 6m above the road, supported by five ‘Y’ shaped piers.
Echoing the great railway bridges of the Victorian age, the side of the girders will feature prominent deck stiffeners which help to manage the structural forces while allowing for a lighter weight beam.
The pale concrete parapet and noise barrier along the top of the viaduct is designed to throw the dark steel into shadow, helping to give the appearance of a lighter and thinner structure. The piers are designed to be as slender as possible, appearing to reach up and grip the beam above.
Structurally, the viaduct girders will use an innovative ‘double composite’ approach, like the nearby Wendover Dean Viaduct. This involves two steel girders sandwiched between two layers of reinforced concrete to create a super strong but light weight span, which will dramatically cut the amount of embedded carbon in the structure.
Once complete, the viaduct will carry high speed trains between London and the North, helping to improve connections, free up space for more freight and local trains on the existing railway and provide zero carbon journeys for people across the UK.
After crossing the viaduct, northbound trains will pass the town of Wendover in a short tunnel designed to reduce the environmental impact of the scheme. Most of the elements of the tunnel’s south portal and associated noise barriers were also given ‘planning approval’ this week under Schedule 17 of the HS2 Act.
HS2 Small Dean Viaduct is designed by the EKFB consortium comprising Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall which is working with their design partner, ASC, a joint venture between Arcadis Setec and COWI, and specialist architects Moxon.
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