A key road linking Bicester and Aylesbury has reopened after a weekend closure to reroute it via a new bridge across the HS2 route.

The new road surface over the bridge on the A41 was laid over the weekend with traffic using the new alignment from 5.30am on Monday morning (September 23).

While the vast majority of the work was delivered without disruption to traffic, a series of weekend closures were needed for utility works and to safely complete the tie-in with the existing road.

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Two more weekend closures will be required in the future to complete the final kerbs, road surfacing and some of the road lining.

The temporary roundabout at the entrance to HS2’s A41 site compound will be removed at a later stage once HS2 construction is complete.

The A41 overbridge, which goes over the HS2 route near Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, was built slightly north of the existing road over two years.

It stretches for 80 metres across a cutting that will carry HS2 rail services between London and the West Midlands.

It is one of 500 bridging structures on the HS2 project, which range from small footbridges and drainage culverts to ‘green bridges’ for wildlife.

There are also huge viaducts such as the Colne Valley Viaduct, which stretches for more than two miles across a series of lakes and waterways between Hillingdon and the M25 on the northwest outskirts of London, and is now the longest of its kind in the UK.

The bridge was built using a ‘top-down’ method, with the deck built at ground level resting on piles driven deep into the ground, before the earth was excavated to form the cutting.

Some 21 U-shaped precast concrete beams were used to form the three spans of the bridge with the deck and wingwalls cast in situ.

The total length of the road realignment is 2.6 kilometres (1.6 miles) from end to end, including seven sets of utility diversions.

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HS2 Ltd’s project manager Vlad Kolev said: “Once complete, HS2 will dramatically improve journeys between our two largest cities while freeing up space on the existing rail network for more freight and local services.

“But it’s also important that we keep communities connected while we deliver this transformative project.

"That’s why smaller structures like the A41 overbridge are so important and I’d like to thank everyone in our team and across the supply chain who worked so hard to get it built and open to the public.

"It hasn’t been an easy job and I’d like to also thank the local community for their patience during the road closures.”