After 10 years of design and construction, Britain’s longest rail bridge, the 2.1-mile Colne Valley Viaduct, has been completed, but it’s unlikely to see rail traffic for another ten years, if ever.
The bridge was built as part of the UK’s High-Speed 2 project, originally designed to link London to Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and other northern areas with 200-mph trains. Long mired in cost overruns and start-and-stop orders, the line was cut back to a 140-mile stretch from near London to Birmingham, with plans for a direct connection to London on hold and the rest of the line past Birmingham canceled by the previous government.
While construction is continuing on the London-to-Birmingham stretch, it’s now not expected to actually operate until the mid-2030s, and the Reform UK party, a serious contender in the next election, has said it would kill the entire project and abandon both the built and unbuilt portions.
As the longest of more than 50 such structures being built HS2, the viaduct curves across the River Colne, Grand Union Canal and a series of roads and lakes using 1,000 uniquely shaped decks. HS2’s project manager for the viaduct called it a “stunning feat of engineering that will no doubt stand the test of time.” It may also end up as a bridge to nowhere.
