BUILDING BRIDGES:

On May 31 HS2 embarked on the construction of the new rail link’s first and longest viaduct with the launch of a 700-tonne bridge-building machine. Stretching for more than two miles (3.4km) across a series of lakes and waterways between Hillingdon and the M25, the Colne Valley Viaduct will become the longest railway bridge in the UK.

The 160m-long bridge-building machine is the only one of its kind in the UK and will be used to lift the 140-tonne concrete deck segments that form the viaduct’s arches into position. Once each section is complete, the machine will inch itself forward into position to build the next stage. HS2