The viaduct designs for the phase one central section have been drawn up by Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial and Bam Nuttall alongside design partners Arcadis and architects Moxon to blend into the surrounding countryside.

In total the consortium will deliver 15 viaducts, 6.9km of green tunnels, 22km of road diversions, as well as 67 overbridges.

Set low into the landscape, the 515m long Edgcote Viaduct will carry the railway across the floodplain of the River Cherwell, south of Chipping Warden.

Edgcote viaduct design

Edgcote viaduct will be supported by 20 pairs of concrete piers

At between six and eight meters high, the viaduct from a distance will be largely hidden by existing hedgerows and woodland.

The 210m long Lower Thorpe Viaduct, two miles to the south, will also be set low into the landscape.

6-span Lower Thorpe Viaduct design

The viaduct will be built by launching supporting steel beams into position to help minimise working at height

Seven weathered steel spans will carry the railway across Banbury Lane just south of the village of Thorpe Mandeville.

The use of weathered steel, which naturally ages to a dark russet brown colour, is designed to help echo the colours of the surrounding countryside and reduce the visual impact of the structure.

HS2 Project Client Director, Ambrose McGuire said: “Set low into the landscape, the designs of both structures are heavily influenced by their location and our determination to reduce the impact of construction on the surrounding communities.

“That’s also why we are delivering five major new wildlife sites alongside the viaducts with significant areas of new woodland and opportunities for valuable new meadows and wetland habitats.”