M42 bridge demolished after it was struck ’20 times’ by cars and lorries – traffic update

A motorway bridge smashed more than 20 times by cars and lorries has been demolished. The structure on the M42[1] was hit 20 times in the past decade, and was damaged beyond repair after it was struck twice in one week by two lorries in January.

Since then, lane restrictions have been in place to prevent the bridge being hit again, resulting in major traffic woes[2] for M42 motorists. A 52-hour operation saw the bridge, which stood between junctions 7 (M6 J4) and 6 (Birmingham NEC and Birmingham Airport[3]), demolished by HS2 contractors and National Highways engineers.

The damaged bridge was removed under a full closure of the M42 from Friday, February 9 until the early hours of Monday, February 12. The M42 is now fully re-open, with live traffic system INRIIX reporting the Birmingham Airport junction was clear of delays, after weeks of congestion.

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A team of 20 demolition experts from Solihull-based firm Armac,[6] working on behalf of HS2 contractors Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV), carried out the demolition. In order to crush the bridge, a 100-tonne excavator and another seven 50-tonne demolition excavators were used along with numerous breaker and cruncher attachments.

The bridge carried the A452 over the motorway but was eventually only used by HS2 construction crews. It was due to be taken down next year as part of HS2 works, but bosses decided the most cost-effective decision was to bring its demolition forward.

Time-lapse footage showed the scale of the dismantling project, with crews working through the night to remove the structure. Once the bridge was demolished at around 3pm on Saturday, the debris was removed, the matting taken away, carriageway cleaned, and central reservation and verge restraint systems reinstated, ready for the motorway to be re-opened.

The bridge was the second of two 4,000 tonne bridges in close proximity over the M42 which needed to be demolished so HS2 teams could build a new twin box structure, which will carry the high speed line over the motorway in the future. The first bridge was demolished in August last year.

Timelapse footage shows M42 bridge demolition by HS2 contractors on February 12

National Highways senior network planner Frank Bird said: “We are delighted to have been able to reopen the motorway for the benefit of road users some three and a half hours earlier than planned and thank people for their ongoing patience since the bridge was hit last month.

“Our engineers investigated whether a repair was possible but as the bridge was due to be removed as part of HS2’s works in the area next year anyway, a decision was taken to bring that forward so we could eliminate the possibility of any further bridge strikes and get all lanes under the structure reopened as soon as possible.

“This has been a challenging task as normally a demolition such as this would be planned over many months. Instead, everyone involved was able to mobilise resources to get it down in a matter of weeks. It has been a terrific collaborative effort with HS2 Ltd and all others involved and one I am sure road users will appreciate with all lanes now open.”

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References

  1. ^ the M42 (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  2. ^ traffic woes (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  3. ^ Birmingham Airport (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  4. ^ New Solihull crazy golf and bowling alley opening with 'adults only' times (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  5. ^ BirminghamLive WhatsApp (chat.whatsapp.com)
  6. ^ Solihull-based firm Armac, (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  7. ^ Solihull (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
  8. ^ MySolihull (data.reachplc.com)

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