Back
Ainscough Crane Hire recently worked with Beaver Bridges Ltd by providing cranes for the installation of two bridges on an East Suffolk rail line during a full Christmas blockade as part of a major housing development.
Ainscough’s Heavy Cranes team was enlisted on a crane hire basis by the Shropshire-based bridge design, manufacturer and installer, and supplied nine cranes for the job – the most it has ever deployed on any given project.
The project entailed a £10m supply and installation of a new 34m x 4m pedestrian bridge and ramps and 45m x 13m vehicle bridge. Ainscough utilised the biggest crane in its fleet – the TC2800, along with a500t, 300t, 250t, 200t, 150t mobile canes, two 90t mobile cranes and a 55t crane.
The cranes came from depots across Ainscough’s national network, including both London sites, Ipswich, Nottingham, and the Heavy Cranes depot in Leyland.
Ainscough began working on the project in August, with Heavy Cranes technical contracts manager Dave Baxter and regional sales manager Jane Rowley securing the contract and then managing the process up until work was to be undertaken on Christmas Day.
The bridges are seen as a vital part of the 3,500 home Ipswich Garden Suburb project and will eventually link the Henley Gate and Fonnereau elements of the scheme. Their construction was a condition of the planning permission to build the Henley Gate development which includes a new country park and business area, they will also provide free access to the Westerfield Railway Station.
Andrew Spink, Ainscough’s heavy cranes operations director, said: “This project gave us the opportunity to demonstrate both the full breadth of the cranes at our disposal and how our nationwide depot network can support our clients when required. Extensive forward planning by our team ensured we delivered an excellent service to our client, allowing them to complete this job on schedule.”
Henry Beaver, chief executive of Beaver Bridges said: “Many said that it was not possible to obtain planning, technical approval, fabrication, and installation over the railway in 12 months. Beaver Bridges acted as Principal Designer and Principal Contractor on this scheme and managed the interface with Network Rail fully on behalf of the client and were very pleased to hand back the track two hours ahead of programme.”
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The work had all gone according to plan and trains were running as normal again on the East Suffolk line from Ipswich to Lowestoft and Felixstowe.”
Images courtesy of Beaver Bridges.
