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Economic Development

New HS2 bridge installed over M42

Contractors carry out work in two days close to site of what will be HS2 Interchange station

A new bridge has been installed over the M42 in Solihull to accommodate HS2 trains

A new bridge has been installed on the Midlands' motorway network to accommodate HS2 trains.

Workers built the 213-foot modular bridge across the M42 north of junction six over the weekend.

The site is near what will be the new Interchange station around 1.2 miles east of Birmingham Airport, connecting the high-speed rail line with the NEC, airport and wider Solihull borough.

The 2,750-tonne bridge structure was carried along the motorway on a self-propelled transporter by contractors Expanded, Laing O'Rourke and J. Murphy & Sons.

It is the first of four bridges to be built close to Interchange with a second due to be installed over the A446 later this year.

HS2 phase one will run between Birmingham and London and is due for completion by 2031 with the second phase connecting the West Midlands with the North West, East Midlands and Yorkshire.

HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston said: "This new road bridge is the first permanent structure to be installed along the route of Britain's new railway.