HS2 updates

1    Breakspear Rd South – Road Closure under Railway Bridge for Culvert Replacement – Sat 05/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 (3 Week Road Closure) 
Following on from the Trial Holes under a 2 Week Road Closure from 29/07/24 to 11/08/24 HS2/SCS have finalised their design for the new Culvert to be installed near to the Chiltern Line Bridge on Breakspear Road South. 
There will be a final Road Closure of 3 Weeks in duration to install the new Culvert and following talks between LBH and HS2/SCS it has been agreed that these works will now take place at Easter 2025. With a Road Closure of this length of time whenever it is programmed in will result in traffic disruption on local roads but LBH will work with HS2/SCS to minimise this as much as is possible.
 
Schedule of works:
•    Sat 05/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 = 3 Week Road Closure (which would be the 2 weeks of the School Holidays plus 1 week afterwards)
•    LBH School Easter Holidays = start Fri 04/04/25 – back to School on Tue 22/04/25
•    Good Friday = 18/04/25 / Easter Sunday = 20/04/25 / Easter Monday = 21/04/25
With the School Holidays taking place from 04/04/25 to 22/04/25 the only works taking place outside of the School Holiday period would be the final week from Tue 22/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 (4 normal School days plus Saturday & Sunday).

2    Diversion of U43 (adjacent to Breakspear Road South) – During Road Closure for Culvert Replacement – Sat 05/04/25 to Sun 27/04/25 
HS2/SCS are planning on using the upcoming 3 week Road Closure of Breakspear Rd South (around the HS2 Site/Chiltern Bridge area) between 05/04 and 27/04 to also do some de-vegetation works along where the U43 is currently diverted adjacent to Breakspear Rd South. 
While the de-vegetation works take place HS2/SCS plan to divert users of the U43 into their Site to make room for these works
3    Decommissioning and Removal of Rail Siding at West Ruislip Portal – March to May 2025 
The last Night Time delivery of TBM Segments by Railway to the West Ruislip Portal took place on 14/03 so now works have begun to decommission and remove the Rail Siding that accesses the HS2 Site from the main Chiltern Railway Line. 
The sequence of the works begins with the removal of the track happening first, followed by the removal of the ballast.  
It is expected that the Rail Siding will be completely removed by May 2025.
 
4    HROC Bridge on Harvil Road – Update Following Inspections  
HS2/SCS recently closed Harvil Road for 6 Nights per week (excluding Friday Nights) between midnight to 5am from 17/02 to 17/03 to carry out 170 Inspections of the Butt Welds on the underneath of the new Bridge (HROC) that carries traffic across the Chiltern Railway Line on Harvil Road. 
HS2/SCS have advised LBH that only about 50% of the total number of Inspections were completed during the recent Road Closures for a number of reasons: 
•    Cancelled Shifts due to Bridge Manufacturer Resourcing Issues
•    Cancelled or delays to Shifts due to Network Rail withdrawing/changing Railway Possession at short notice
•    Issues with working around Birds Nests
•    Each Inspection taking longer than expected  
This means that HS2/SCS will be requesting further Night Time Road Closures of Harvil Road around the beginning of May to complete these Inspections (they expect they will need another 3 weeks worth). 
HS2/SCS have to rehire the specialist Crane used for the Inspections which is not available for another month or so plus there is the Breakspear Road South Road Closure from 05/04 to 27/04 for the Culvert Replacement so any further Bridge Inspections would have to be scheduled after that. The results of the Inspections completed thus far are all being sent to HS2 Design House for review and analysis and this work is still ongoing so there are no results to be shared with LBH at present.

5    Decommissioning and Removal of Rail Siding at West Ruislip Portal – March to May 2025
The last Night Time delivery of TBM Segments by Railway to the West Ruislip Portal took place on 14/03 so now works have begun to decommission and remove the Rail Siding that accesses the HS2 Site from the main Chiltern Railway Line. 
The sequence of the works begins with the removal of the track happening first, followed by the removal of the ballast. 
It is expected that the Rail Siding will be completely removed by May 2025.
 
6    SCS Noise Barrier Testing near Breakspear Road South – June 2024 to June 2025
There will be Noise Barrier testing from late June 2024 until at least June 2025 for up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week within the HS2/SCS Site to the west of the entrance off Breakspear Road South. Noise Barrier Testing commenced on 27/06/24 with the Generator and Actuator Instrument being used 24/7 to test the piles and the ground around them in the 1st Phase of testing.
A temporary embankment has been constructed in the area where Noise Barriers have been installed and the structural integrity will be tested. The scope of the testing is to confirm that the pile foundation and the structure will not have any significant changes due to Trains passing the Noise Barrier. The anticipated level of noise impact is expected to be minimal and will include the use of a generator which will power the instrument that will simulate the movement of the trains passing (the generator will be covered in acoustic barriers to minimise the noise). 
HS2/SCS are gearing up to commence the next Phase of testing, MFD (main fatigue and dynamic test) testing of the Noise Barrier Panels which is now expected to commence in April 2025 and be completed by the end of June 2025. A test setup of the Noise Barriers will be constructed like the image below. The panels will be fixed to the piles and secured by the torsion beam (which have already been tested) and continuous shaking of the panels will be undertaken 
Upon completion of the MFD testing of the piles, HS2/SCS will commence the Acoustic testing of the Noise Barrier Panels, the test acoustic barriers will be fitted with Acoustic Absorbers and rubber gap filler and Acoustic Steps. It is hoped that these tests will be carried out towards the end of June 2025.
The Trains using the HS2 Railway will not likely stop at night so the 24/7 testing is critical to simulate actual stress and strain on the Noise Barrier similar to the operational requirements and in reducing the duration of the test. This is fundamental to assuring Noise Barrier compliance.