Extreme weather forced the postponement of planned HS2 works in the West Midlands and temporarily halted construction at Hinkley Point C in Somerset over the weekend.
HS2 Ltd paused work on the Water Orton viaduct after warnings of high winds during Storm Austen. The Balfour Beatty Vinci joint venture had been due to install parapets during a closure of part of the M42.
The associated motorway closure has been rescheduled from 9pm on 30 October until 5am on 2 November.
Hinkley work resumes
Construction News understands that work at Hinkley Point C was paused overnight on Friday because of local road conditions. Construction resumed on Saturday morning.
The storms also caused widespread disruption to electricity networks and transport infrastructure. The Energy Networks Association said 39,000 customers remained without power at 8am on Monday, while 785,000 customers had been reconnected across the UK.
The organisation said engineers were working “around the clock”, although fallen trees and other hazards continued to make some affected areas difficult to access.
Transport network damage
Storm Boelo affected northern parts of the UK after Storm Austen caused damage in the south. The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room met on Sunday to assess power cuts, flooding and disruption to transport routes.
Stuart Wilson, national operations manager at Transport Scotland, said: “The weekend of storms has brought challenges across the transport network and, in some cases, there will be significant recovery work required before we have the network back to normal.”
He added: “Our operating companies are working around the clock to restore parts of the trunk road network that have been impacted.”
Network Rail said torrential rain and strong winds had flooded tracks and brought overhead lines down at several locations in north-west England. Engineers worked through the night to inspect routes, clear trees and debris, manage flooding and assess damage.
Scaffolding collapse under investigation
Separately, two people were taken to hospital after being rescued from collapsed scaffolding on Streatham High Road in south London on Sunday lunchtime. The cause of the incident has not been confirmed.
The London Ambulance Service said it was called at 1.30pm on Sunday 25 October and sent ambulance crews, an incident response officer and hazardous area response team paramedics. Both patients were treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.
London Fire Brigade said two people had been trapped beneath the scaffolding. The Health and Safety Executive said it was aware of the incident and was liaising with emergency services.
Lambeth councillors approved plans earlier this year to refurbish and extend an art deco former department store on the High Road.