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Ainscough’s Heavy Cranes division has played a pivotal role in the installation of a new bridge deck spanning the M180 motorway close to Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire.
Using a Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 to complete the positioning of a replacement bridge beam, the process was captured in a time-lapse video footage by customer, integrated highways services company, A-one+.
Moor Bridge which spans the M180 south of Scunthorpe suffered damage to an outer beam which was considered beyond repair and subsequently in need of replacement.
The M180 was closed in both directions during the replacement with the 500-tonne crane arriving on site at 4am and taking four hours to rig and ballast using 75-tonne of kentledge weights.
The long bridge edge beam was precast, measured 24.3m and arrived on site by low loader. Temporary edge protection system was installed onto the beam while in situ on the loader with debris netting added to prevent fragments falling onto the carriage way during assembly and fit. In addition a temporary restraint unit was installed to be used when the unit was lifted into place to attach it to the remaining bridge deck.
Once the preparation work was complete the 500 tonne crane lifted the 64 tonne precast bridge unit into place carrying out a perfect 90 degree swing to lower it onto the pier.
Andrew Winter, Ainscough’s Heavy Cranes operations Director said: “This was a well-planned and flawlessly delivered lift by our team. The conditions on the day were perfect and the closed carriageway provided excellent access for us.
“There is always pressure to complete the lifts safely and to schedule. This is particularly true when we are required to close major highways. The film offers a great insight into our operations and we were pleased to demonstrate our capabilities in this manner.”
To complete the scheme engineers installed reinforcement and cast concrete in the stitch of the deck slab. All temporary restraints were removed and a replacement parapet was installed. The deck was waterproofed and surfaced with kerbs and verges laid with safety barriers added to the approach and departure ends of the parapet.
The use of such a large crane happens so rarely at A-one+ projects that site visits were arranged for staff not involved with the project. The group of site visitors met at 7am for a site induction and were given demonstrations and tours during the installation.
A-one+ is a shared joint venture between Ch2m, Colas and Costain carrying out maintenance and repairs on motorways and trunk roads on behalf of Highways England.
Film of the bridge installation can be viewed here.
