On Friday I went for a walk around Amersham
There's a linear work along the valley to the south of the town - almost like they are going to tunnel cut-and-cover a couple of hundred metres north of the actual line.
But those tunnel linings are a little small!
That's because this is a water pipe, not a railway! It's to protect against the risks of tunnelling, with Amersham's pumping station enhanced and Chalfont St Giles' water sent up to Amersham to be treated and then sent back as its pumping station hasn't got room for the upgrade. It's sort of HS2-related, but is rather tangential to the actual scheme (it's almost certainly something that has helped the HS2 budget balloon). However these works are being called HS2 works by locals.
I wouldn't be surprised if, in a couple of years, a very similar long worksite in a similar place is done for the 'Misbourne Greenway' (part of the HS2 cycle route), but there's not been any joined up thinking.
Anyway, the other HS2 prep-works in the town are around the shaft site - improving a road junction next to it to allow HGVs to access it better. These works having been going on and off (mostly off) for over a year now. Actual works on the shaft began on the 4th (when this road closure was to be over - but they are making hay while the virus keeps traffic down and keeping it closed until the end of September, giving them space to do some more work), but there wasn't any evidence of a start on the shaft.
And it's nearly done - presumably the lights will only go red when something wants to turn right (onto the main road - only cycles would be allowed to turn off it heading towards the roundabout, even though buses go and do a u-turn at the roundabout).
Just this filter lane allowing direct access from the A413 to build (though one existed beforehand!) and this bit of the works is done.
There's a linear work along the valley to the south of the town - almost like they are going to tunnel cut-and-cover a couple of hundred metres north of the actual line.
But those tunnel linings are a little small!
That's because this is a water pipe, not a railway! It's to protect against the risks of tunnelling, with Amersham's pumping station enhanced and Chalfont St Giles' water sent up to Amersham to be treated and then sent back as its pumping station hasn't got room for the upgrade. It's sort of HS2-related, but is rather tangential to the actual scheme (it's almost certainly something that has helped the HS2 budget balloon). However these works are being called HS2 works by locals.
I wouldn't be surprised if, in a couple of years, a very similar long worksite in a similar place is done for the 'Misbourne Greenway' (part of the HS2 cycle route), but there's not been any joined up thinking.
Anyway, the other HS2 prep-works in the town are around the shaft site - improving a road junction next to it to allow HGVs to access it better. These works having been going on and off (mostly off) for over a year now. Actual works on the shaft began on the 4th (when this road closure was to be over - but they are making hay while the virus keeps traffic down and keeping it closed until the end of September, giving them space to do some more work), but there wasn't any evidence of a start on the shaft.
And it's nearly done - presumably the lights will only go red when something wants to turn right (onto the main road - only cycles would be allowed to turn off it heading towards the roundabout, even though buses go and do a u-turn at the roundabout).
Just this filter lane allowing direct access from the A413 to build (though one existed beforehand!) and this bit of the works is done.
