AINSCOUGH CRANE HIRE INSTALLS MAJOR CHESTER ROAD BRIDGE

Ainscough Crane Hire and Murphy completed a number of challenging lifts to deconstruct and then reconstruct a major road bridge in Hoole, Chester, which reopened three days ahead of schedule.

The major work was carried out over two weekends in co-operation with Murphy on the Brook Lane Bridge in Chester, where a Liebherr LTM 1750 was used before Ainscough returned a week later with an LG 1550.

The crane was set up on a platform built on 1000 tonnes of stone which had to be put in next to the roadway to enable the crane to sit on to 5m. Given its position and tight parameters on the road where the rigging was set, space was limited.

Despite the challenges, the high-risk project went to plan and the team lifted 2 x 18m, 91 tonne L-Shaped arched parapet units with wires and 130 tonne spreading beam up from on a slope as it inserted more weight on one side than the other, whilst being lifted at a 32m radius.

The project began in September and the bridge was reopened at the beginning of May by five-year-old Harry Minnery of Newton Primary School because he had been captivated by the nine-month project.

Dave Baxter, Heavy Crane Division Technical Contracts Manager, said: “The available space for the crane & precast items was very limited, planning & positioning was crucial for the execution of the lifts. The Liebherr LG 1550 was rigged on 56.0m of main boom & the 31.5m derrick mast. The crane superstructure carried the normal 160.0te of counterweight & used an additional 180.0te’s of Derrick counterweight for the main lifts. With superstructure, the main boom, backmast & the counterweight a total of 480.0te of equipment was on the very narrow site. It was a successful challenging job helped by the Ainscough Crane Hire & Murphy team spirit.”

Murphy site manager, Jamie Skillin, said: “We’re really pleased to finish ahead of time as we know local people have experienced a bit of extra traffic in the area because we were on site. I’d like to thank them for bearing with us while we carried out this essential replacement bridge work.”