HS2

Chris Smith is news editor at Construction News Today’s King’s Speech has been used as an opportunity to differentiate between both the previous administration and the Blair era. New ministerial teams don’t know the full extent of their inheritance yet and are still working through the detail of plans. So…

To minimise disruption in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, EKFB is using a nifty winching system to fix the decks onto the Wendover Dean Viaduct More than half a million people visit the Millau Viaduct in southern France every year. There are many different ways to experience the…

Which projects are likely to have the biggest impact on the industry in the year ahead? Keith Cooper reports Houses of Parliament Politicians and construction firms alike are standing by for more details on the beleaguered Palace of Westminster restoration. After more than 7,500 hours of surveys being carried out…

10. How do we make modular buildings safer? More than eight months after fire-service leaders published a five-page document outlining a litany of concerns about modular buildings, and more than a year-and-a-half after safety body Cross-UK highlighted the potential for concealed spread of fire inside extensive cavities within such structures,…

This year saw setback after setback for the UK’s biggest construction project. In March, construction on phase 2a from Birmingham to Crewe and the Euston terminus was pushed back by two years. Then further alarm bells sounded: leaked documents suggested Euston might be cut to seven platforms, and the Infrastructure…

Crossing a busy road and several waterways, building HS2’s Colne Valley Viaduct has prompted some novel approaches. Ben Vogel finds out how the Align JV is taking on the challenge Project: Colne Valley Viaduct and Chiltern Tunnels, both part of HS2 Phase One Central 1 (C1) Client: HS2 C1 overall…

Early collaboration among construction-sector partners would give clients, contractors and suppliers a better chance of decarbonising their operations, a recent roundtable discussion heard. But while innovative technology can play an important part in meeting net-zero targets, getting better at the basics is crucial, too. Mike Walter reports On the panel…

The cost of steel rose so steeply this year that even some of the biggest project managers in the country were beginning to feel the heat. Prices, which had been largely stable at around £350 per tonne, were suddenly hitting levels of between £500 and £700, and even more. The…

The precast factories for HS2’s Colne Valley Viaduct and the Chiltern Tunnel are responsible for some of the most ambitious prefabrication works ever attempted in the UK. Joshua Stein reports

Given that history is littered with spiked infrastructure schemes that are later revived, Greg Pitcher examines whether the recent government announcement to cancel the eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds really means it is all over