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Bromford Tunnel West Portal

Working in partnership with Balfour Beatty Vinci, MPB is delivering all in-situ reinforced concrete works for the Bromford Tunnel West Portal and the Washwood Heath Retained Cut, including a series of highly complex internal structures.

The Bromford Tunnel West Portal will form a striking new gateway for HS2, guiding high speed trains in and out of Birmingham. This impressive structure reaches 22 m below ground, with a further 5 m deep drainage sump, requiring MPB to construct intricate reinforced concrete works at depths of up to 27 m. The portal seamlessly connects to a 750 m long retained cut, forming a critical section of the HS2 route.

MPB’s scope includes the delivery of 75,000 m³ of heavily reinforced concrete, from the portal headwall, designed to receive the TBM breakthrough, to nearly 1 km of complex base slab construction. This package showcases MPB’s capability to safely and efficiently deliver large scale, technically demanding reinforced concrete structures on one of the UK’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

CHALLENGES / SUCCESSES

MPB have successfully completed multiple massive concrete pours of up to 1500m3.
7,000t of large diameter reinforcement has been installed within the confines of diaphragm walls.
MPB have worked with BBV to optimise the construction programme working 7d/week to meet BBV key date requirements.
Working at 27m below ground level MPB managed all confined space requirement to construct the sump.
The 30 metre tall internal structure, constructed from within the tunnel portal, presented significant technical challenges and MPB completed all the rebar detailing and construction sequencing seamlessly to ensure collaboration and integration with the ongoing works required to finish the Bromford Tunnel.

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