Category Archives: Environment

HS2 works update

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Harvil Road Night Time Road Closures for Snagging Works – Mon 28/04 to Mon 19/05 
The 3 weeks of Night Time Road Closures of Harvil Road were completed on Mon 19/05 in time for the 5am opening of the road.  
All of the Snagging works along the new section of Highway between the Dogs Trust and HS2 Gate 1 have now been completed and the maintenance responsibility for this section of road has now been handed over from HS2 to LBH.
Construction of Tunnel Walkways from West Ruislip Portal – May 2025 to Feb 2026 
With the tunnelling now completed on the 2 tunnels between West Ruislip Portal and Greenpark Way Vent Shaft, the next stage is to build tunnel walkways inside the tunnels. There will be 2 walkways built inside each tunnel, a narrow walkway for maintenance access and a wider walkway to be used to safely evacuate passengers in case of emergency (once the railway is operational).  
In order to be build these walkways there will be concrete deliveries by lorry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week between the end of May 2025 and Feb 2026 to the West Ruislip Portal Site off Ickenham Road. 
The lorries will deliver ready-mixed concrete to electric pumps located behind a 2 metre high wall at the tunnel entrance (see map overleaf). The concrete will be pumped through a pipe into the concrete mixer truck and taken into the tunnels. The walkways will be built along the entire length of the tunnel using a Formwork system (Formwork is a temporary structure which shapes the walkway). The concrete is poured into the Formwork until it hardens, with the Formwork system being moved along the inside of the tunnel until the walkways are completed. 
HS2/SCS do not expect that these works will be noisy above ground as they will all take place within the tunnels, but there will be concrete deliveries by lorry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Map below shows the location of the works:
Demobilisation works at West Ruislip Portal Site – March to Sept 2025 
With the 2nd Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Caroline completing her tunnelling journey to Greenpark Way Vent Shaft in April 2025, works will continue to remove tunnelling support structures inside and outside the tunnels at West Ruislip Portal Site. There will be demobilisation and removal works carried out for the following:  The conveyor structure – ongoing The launch chamber entrance – ongoing Rail siding – ongoing Gantry cranes and segment yard – ongoing Conveyor bridges – to be scheduled  
Removal of the Conveyor Structure – January to July 2025
HS2 have started dismantling and removing the Conveyor Structure by crane from within the West Ruislip Portal entrance from 02/01/25 with these works expecting to take until July 2025 to complete. The 1st Phase of these works will be removing the Conveyor Structure from the Downline Tunnel (as Sushila has completed her tunnelling) and then out into the Tunnel Portal at West Ruislip Now that TBM Caroline has completed tunnelling in April 2025 then the process will be repeated for the Upline Tunnel Then finally all of the remaining Conveyor Structure can be removed all the way from West Ruislip Portal along to the Treatment Area at Harvil Road Gate 1 Site. and Removal of Rail Siding at West Ruislip Portal – March to June 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 track and ballast have now been removed, with the ballast being donated to the Bluebell Railway in West Sussex (see link below for more information):   HS2 donates 4,000 tonnes of ballast to Bluebell Railway | RailBusinessDaily   It is expected that the Rail Siding will be completely removed by June 2025.

HS2 works update

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Updated Harvil Road Night Time Road Closures for Snagging Works – Mon 28/04 to Mon 19/05
 
Please note that the remainder of the Bridge Inspections on the HROC Bridge are no longer required as HS2 deem that they have enough data from those already completed to determine any remedial works required to the Welds going forward.
 
That means the current 3 Week Night Time Road Closures on Harvil Road as detailed below are now only to complete outstanding snagging works:
 

  • drainage cover repairs on the carriageway
  • white lining (weather dependant)
  • sealant works on the parapets on the new bridge along Harvil Road
  • snagging works along the footpath on Harvil Road to repair paving defects and cracks

 
There are Road Closures 7 Nights of the week, with extended hours on a Friday and Saturday Night Shift. I have detailed the dates and times of the Road Closures below:
 

Mon 28/04 at 11.59pm – Tue 29/04 at 5am Mon 05/05 at 11.59pm – Tue 06/05 at 5am Mon 12/05 at 11.59pm – Tue 13/05 at 5am
Tue 29/04 at 11.59pm – Wed 30/04 at 5am Tue 06/05 at 11.59pm – Wed 07/05 at 5am Tue 13/05 at 11.59pm – Wed 14/05 at 5am
Wed 30/04 at 11.59pm – Thur 01/05 at 5am Wed 07/05 at 11.59pm – Thur 08/05 at 5am Wed 14/05 at 11.59pm – Thur 15/05 at 5am
Thur 01/05 at 11.59pm – Fri 02/05 at 5am Thur 08/05 at 11.59pm – Fri 09/05 at 5am Thur 15/05 at 11.59pm – Fri 16/05 at 5am
Fri 02/05 at 9.30pm – Sat 03/05 at 6am Fri 09/05 at 9.30pm – Sat 10/05 at 6am Fri 16/05 at 9.30pm – Sat 17/05 at 6am
Sat 03/05 at 9.30pm – Sun 04/05 at 6am Sat 10/05 at 9.30pm – Sun 11/05 at 6am Sat 17/05 at 9.30pm – Sun 18/05 at 6am
Sun 04/05 at 11.59pm – Mon 05/05 at 5am Sun 11/05 at 11.59pm – Mon 12/05 at 5am Sun 18/05 at 11.59pm – Mon 19/05 at 5am

 
Update 16/05 – HS2/SCS have confirmed that works are progressing well and that the Road Closure has been in place each night as planned (see photos below). The works are on time to be completed on time with the last Night Shift scheduled to take place Sun 18/05 into Mon 19/05 at 5am:
Updated Demobilisation works at West Ruislip Portal Site – March to Sept 2025 
With the 2nd Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Caroline completing her tunnelling journey to Greenpark Way Vent Shaft in April 2025, works will continue to remove tunnelling support structures inside and outside the tunnels at West Ruislip Portal Site. There will be demobilisation and removal works carried out for the following:
 

  • The conveyor structure – ongoing
  • The launch chamber entrance – ongoing
  • Rail siding – ongoing
  • Gantry cranes and segment yard – ongoing
  • Conveyor bridges – to be scheduled

Updated May 2025 – Below is a Table & Map that shows the indicative demobilisation works programme over the next few months: 

Updated Decommissioning and Removal of Rail Siding at West Ruislip Portal – March to June 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 should now be completely removed by June 2025.

Proposed changes to bus routes

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TfL is proposing changes to to bus routes 698, 697 and new school route 695

Consultation link: https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/route-698?cid=route-698

Proposals

To improve school bus services for The Douay Martyrs Catholic School, we propose to:

  • Introduce a NEW school bus route 695 between West Drayton and The Douay Martyrs Catholic School via Falling Lane and Cherry Lane
  • Reroute school bus 698 between Hayes and The Douay Martyrs Catholic School via Hayes Town and Bourne Avenue
  • The last stop on school bus routes 698, 697 and 695 would be at Swakeleys Drive, instead of Ickenham Station
  • School bus routes 698 and 697 would no longer stop at Hillingdon station in either direction

Benefits of the proposals include:

  • Faster journey times for West Drayton, Yiewsley and Hayes
  • More capacity where it’s needed
  • Encourage students to travel by bus, instead of car

(and even more buses parking up in Long Lane waiting to pick up students!!!)

HS2 event May 15

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from HS2


We would like to invite you to a community drop in event.

• Date: Thursday 15 May 2025
• Time: 4pm to 7.30pm
• Venue: Ickenham Village Hall, 33 Swakeleys Road, Ickenham, Uxbridge UB10 8DG

Our engagement team and technical specialists will be available to update you and answer your questions on the following areas:
• Construction of Headhouse at West Ruislip
• Update on Tunnelling progress
We will use drone footage of HS2 sites in the area to show how construction is progressing.

For further details please follow this link. https://www.hs2.org.uk/events/hs2-scs-community-event-ickenham-village-hall/#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=bac77dec-f629-4c9c-9ed8-9a9554bb0000

Yet more on Harvil Road night-time closures

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FROM HS2

planned works that we will be carrying out on Harvil Road Bridge.

Between 17 February and 17 March 2025, the manufacturer of welded parts of the new Harvil Road Bridge, carried out some planned surveys. They now require additional time to continue the activity on the bridge.

To ensure the safety of both the operatives and rail users, the work will take place when no trains are operating on the Chiltern Line. Due to the need for this rail possession, these works can only be done at nighttime.

From 28 April to 17 May 2025, Harvil Road will be closed overnight north and south of the new Harvil Road bridge over the Chiltern Line as per schedule below

  • Sunday to Thursday from 11.59pm to 5am
  • Friday and Saturday, from 9.30pm to 6am

For safety reasons, temporary traffic management will be in place. However, this will be removed at the end of each shift. During the road closure, local access to residential and commercial properties (including the Dogs Trust) will be maintained, however, there will be no through access for emergency services.

These activities are non-intrusive, with a minimal noise level expected ensuring that any disruption is kept to a minimum.

More on Harvil Road night-time closures

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FROM HS2
New HROC Bridge Inspections on Harvil Road – 3 Weeks of Night Time Road Closures – Mon 28/04 to Mon 19/05

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 confirmed to LBH that only about 50% of the total number of Inspections were completed during the recent Road Closures and they have requested a further 3 Weeks of Night Time Road Closures on Harvil Road to complete these works.
 
This time there will be Road Closures 7 Nights of the week, with extended hours on a Friday and Saturday Night Shift in order to allow completion of snagging repairs to the carriageway area along the realigned section of Harvil Road before maintenance responsibility for this new section of road is passed from HS2 to LBH in May 2025. 
 
I have detailed the dates and times of the Road Closures below, and it has been made clear to HS2/SCS that they cannot commence these works until the Road Closure on Breakspear Road South has been removed (scheduled for Sun 27/04 evening time):

Mon 28/04 at 11.59pm – Tue 29/04 at 5am        
Tue 29/04 at 11.59pm – Wed 30/04 at 5am        T
Wed 30/04 at 11.59pm – Thur 01/05 at 5am        W
Thur 01/05 at 11.59pm – Fri 02/05 at 5am       
Fri 02/05 at 9.30pm – Sat 03/05 at 6am      
Sat 03/05 at 9.30pm – Sun 04/05 at 6am        
Sun 04/05 at 11.59pm – Mon 05/05 at 5am        

 Mon 05/05 at 11.59pm – Tue 06/05 at 5am        Mon 12/05 at 11.59pm – Tue 13/05 at 5am
Tue 06/05 at 11.59pm – Wed 07/05 at 5am        Tue 13/05 at 11.59pm – Wed 14/05 at 5am
Wed 07/05 at 11.59pm – Thur 08/05 at 5am        Wed 14/05 at 11.59pm – Thur 15/05 at 5am
 Fri 09/05 at 9.30pm – Sat 10/05 at 6am        Fri 16/05 at 9.30pm – Sat 17/05 at 6am
Sat 10/05 at 9.30pm – Sun 11/05 at 6am        Sat 17/05 at 9.30pm – Sun 18/05 at 6am
Sun 11/05 at 11.59pm – Mon 12/05 at 5am        Sun 18/05 at 11.59pm – Mon 19/05 at 5am

 
The Road will be Closed from Skip Lane junction to The Dogs Trust
 

BRS earthworks approaching completion

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From HS2

We’re writing to update you about earthworks currently taking place at our site on Breakspear Road South.
HS2 Works Notification: Earthworks at the site on Breakspear Road South to be completed by 5 May 2025

We wrote to you in December 2024 to update you on works for the retained embankments construction at our site on Breakspear Road South, from 17 June 2024 to 31 March 2025.

These works have been delayed due to reduced availability of lorry deliveries. Our permitted lorry movements are limited, and we had to use some of them to move tunnelling materials off-site during this period of works.  In addition, heavy rain in January and February made it impossible to carry out the required compaction tests for the embankments. As a result, we now expect to complete the works by 5 May 2025.

For further details please follow this link.  https://www.hs2.org.uk/work-items/update-on-earthworks-at-the-site-on-breakspear-road-south/#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=556f0a93-da1a-41de-aed7-fcfe049a0300