HS2 Thame Valley Viaduct, first beams lifted into place
Text edited from a script I wrote for a video which can be found here At 880m long and only 3m high the Thame Valley Viaduct in Buckinghamshire won’t be as impressive as the Colne Valley Viaduct in Denham. However, the way in which it is being constructed will make the viaduct pioneering, at least here in the UK. The viaduct will pass over a large floodplain to the west of Aylesbury that is situated between the A41 and A418. Trying to build a viaduct that is almost a kilometre long within a floodplain provides a whole host of challenges, which is part of the reason why the viaduct is being constructed in the way that it is, using prefabricated elements for much of the viaduct's structure. In order to build the viaduct an access road first had to be constructed, which had to be strong enough to allow cranes, ADTs (articulated dump trucks) and excavators to pass over it, but could not contaminate or block the flow of water. Therefore several culverts were installed underneath the ro