A specialist HS2 engineering team is preparing to move a 112-metre-long, 1,631-tonne steel structure over Lawley Middleway, part of Birmingham's ring road, this August.

The operation will be delivered by HS2's main works contractor in the Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV), alongside bridge move specialists Mammoet.

To minimise disruption, the bridge was constructed over the past two years on land next to Digbeth Canal rather than in situ. The structure will now be jacked onto two self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) ahead of the move.

On 15 August, Mammoet will rotate the bridge 90 degrees using the SPMTs. Between 16 and 23 August, a skidding system with a jacking push/pull mechanism will be used in combination with the SPMTs to move the structure into position across Lawley Middleway — a first for BBV on the HS2 project.

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Night-time operations will see the span moved around 12 metres each night to keep the road open during the day. Lawley Middleway will be closed from Garrison Circus to Curzon Circus between 10:00pm and 6:00am from 15 to 24 August, with signed diversions avoiding the Birmingham Clean Air Zone. The road will fully reopen at 6:00am on 24 August.

The Lawley Middleway bridge forms part of the high-speed railway's approach to Birmingham. Trains will travel from the west portal of the 3.5-mile Bromford Tunnel at Washwood Heath onto a one-mile stretch of five connected viaducts — Duddeston Junction, Curzon 1, Curzon 2, Lawley Middleway, and Curzon 3 — leading to the platforms at Curzon Street Station.

Work on the Curzon Approaches section of the railway is at peak productivity, with upcoming milestones including the second Bromford Tunnel breakthrough, Curzon 2 viaduct move, first Duddeston Junction Viaduct move, reopening of Aston Church Road, demolition of the old Aston Church Road bridge, and the start of construction on the new Saltley Viaduct within the next 12 months.