HS2 reveals viaduct design that will bisect beauty spot
OVERPASS FOR HIGH SPEED TRAIN WILL CROSS REGIONAL PARK AND 45-ACRE LATE
HS2 Limited has unveiled the plans for a 3.4km viaduct which will cut through the Colne Valley Regional Park.
The designs are the basis on which civil engineering contractors Align will consult with local residents and stakeholders in Spring.
High Speed trains will travel over the viaduct, built over what is currently the Hillingdon Outdoor Activities Centre, before they enter the tunnels that take the trains through the Chiltern Hills towards the West Midlands.
The viaduct designs have been created after consultation with a Colne Valley Regional Park Panel and HS2 Independent Design Panel made up of design and sustainability experts.
The Park Panel included input from Hillingdon Council, South Bucks District Council, Chiltern District Council and Buckingham- shire County Council.
Architects Martin Knight were briefed that the design must maintain views and “flow” with the landscape as well as being “well proportioned and elegant”.
The concept document also looks at “innovative” ways to mitigate the negative impact of HS2 in the Colne Valley by placing “transparent noise-reduction barriers with vertical lines which are visible to bats and wildfowl”.
The barriers may also “create a slimmer side profile of the viaduct”.
Chair of the Colne Valley Regional Park Panel, Jim Barclay, said: “The construction of the Colne Valley HS2 viaduct will have a significant impact on the Colne Valley area.
“The Colne Valley Panel which is drawn from local stakeholders, is very pleased to have been consulted and through a series of workshops, Panel Members have been able to understand the design principles for the viaduct.
“The Colne Valley Regional Park Panel looks forward to further engagement with HS2 and Align over the actual viaduct design.”
The concept will “inform” the final design put forward for consultation by civil engineering contractors for the Colne Valley to north opening of Chiltern Tunnel stretch of HS2, Align.
The design out forward will have to fit the technical specifications and “agreed cost envelope”.
HS2 programme director, Mike Hickson, said: “The Colne Valley viaduct will be one of the longest viaducts in the UK, and one of HS2’s best-known structures.
“We are pleased and grateful for the work done by Martin Knight Architects, the Colne Valley Regional Park Panel and the HS2 Independent Design Panel to produce this potential scheme design.
“We have every confidence that our contractor, Align, will continue this collaborative approach and engagement, as they now develop their own scheme and then detailed design of this significant structure.”