A stretch of the A43 in Northamptonshire has reopened after a series of weekend closures, which allowed huge steel beams to be lifted into position.

The closures were in place as part of the construction of a bridge that will allow high speed HS2 trains to pass under the busy A43 near Brackley.

The road reopened just before midnight on Saturday (March 15) after the last of three weekend road closures.

Back in 2023, HS2 engineers, working closely with National Highways, realigned the road to create an ‘island’ between the two carriageways big enough for the construction of the new bridge deck.

Steel beams have been lifted into place on the A43 in Northamptonshire.

placeholder image — Steel beams have been lifted into place on the A43 in Northamptonshire.

Using a ‘top-down’ approach, they sank 52m deep piled foundations and then built the pile caps and piers that will support the 66-metre-long bridge deck carrying the road. This weekend, they lifted the last parts of the seven steel beams that will support the bridge deck using a 750-tonne crane.

HS2 Ltd’s senior project manager Elizabeth Longinotti said: “The A43 is a busy route between Brackley and Northampton and I’d like to thank drivers for their patience over the last three weekends, allowing us to safely lift the enormous steel beams into position while the road was closed.

“With the beams now in place, we can focus on the next part of this complex multi-stage project – pouring the concrete deck ready for the road to be moved onto the new bridge early next year.”

National Highways route manager, Bill Freeman, added: “This is an enormous project which will inevitably impact on people using our roads but we have worked very hard for a long time now to keep that disruption to a minimum.

The works are all in relation to the construction of HS2.

“For a number of years we have been liaising with HS2 and their partners to develop a plan which would reduce the disturbance to road users during the construction of this huge structure.

“We have also taken advantage of the road closures to expedite our own works improving drainage and repairing the slope along the A43, between Brackley and Syresham, reducing the need for further disruption.”

The next step now the beams are in position, will be the concrete deck and parapets. Once the bridge has been built, the road will be moved back onto the new bridge and excavation can begin to create space for the railway underneath.