Railway bridge Plate uniquely installed
Tiny building site
The regional rail link from Parchim to Schwerin crosses the A14 motorway at Plate. Demolition and construction work therefore had to be carried during short weekend closures of the motorway. The new railway bridge, weighing over 320 tonnes with a length of 42 metres, was assembled at ground level on a tiny construction site right next to the motorway.
During the weekend closure of the motorway, the bridge had to be lifted, placed onto SPMTs, then driven in and installed on the new abutments. Quite the challenge! It wasn't possible to set up mobile telescopic cranes on the tight construction site. And manually jacking up the bridge to the right height would take too much time.
Inventive solution
So, the engineers from Wagenborg Engineering came up with an inventive solution: using the 500-tonne gantry system on both sides of the bridge.
The space-saving set-up of this gantry system was very practical and the powerful, fast hydraulic lifting system provided plenty capacity for the weight of the bridge.
H-hour
No sooner said than done, in November 2019 Wagenborg Nedlift's transport and lifting specialists arrived at the construction site next to the motorway. Using the gantry system, the bridge was quickly and safely raised to the correct transport height, after which the SPMTs, equipped with container supports, drove under the bridge.
Once the motorway was closed and the transport route prepared, it was time to start driving in. The SPMT operator skilfully manoeuvred the bridge above the abutments, after which it was positioned onto foundation using the trailer hydraulics.
Swimmingly
The inventive gantry system solution, in combination with thorough preparation by the Wagenborg Nedlift team and excellent cooperation with the parties involved, ensured a smooth execution of the entire installation operation of the bridge!
Watch the project pictures and timelapse movie here!
