Sarens is pleased to have helped move the Gartroper Bridge, in Germany, into its final position. The bridge was assembled entirely on land, so had to be skidded over the water for installation. Sarens was called in by Amand GmbH to complete the operation that would carefully move this 530t, 74m long steel bridge into place.

For 36 hours over a weekend, the river was closed to traffic so that the bridge could be installed. Sarens conducted the operation in several phases: 

• Jacking. A jacking system (4x CS250) with skid shoes was assembled in front of the abutment. The challenge was assembling it below the bridge deck, because the confined space limited the crane's positioning.
• SPMT lift and skid.   Next, STMPs were installed on the backside of the bridge. The SPMTs lifted the bridge and the skid shoes onto the jacking system. They then pushed the bridge forward, skidding it for about 25m.

• Moving the bridge.   Barge Jozef, with its 4x CS250 jacking towers, was positioned below the front of the bridge, taking over the load from the skid shoes. Together, the SPMTs and barge then moved the bridge forward. The bridge was then jacked up on the skid shoes again, and the SPMTs were removed, leaving the barge and skid shoes to support the full weight of the bridge.
• Final positioning.   Strand jacks were connected between the skid shoes and the end of the bridge, pushing it over the skid shoes and into its final position. The bridge was then jacked down onto its supports using the CS250 jacking system.

The project was carried out successfully and earned praise from the client. 

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the successful shuttling of the bridge. Above all, the calm and deliberate approach of all local workers contributed significantly to its success," said Sven Diers, Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes.

Sarens equipment

Sarens deployed the following equipment for this operation:

• Barge Jozef
• 2x 8 axle lines SPMT K2400-ST
• 2x strand jack 45t
• 8x jacking towers CS250 (four on land, four on the barge) 
• 2x skid shoes 5x100t
• Various hydraulic winches
• Ballasting system 100t/h

The equipment to be used on the barge was loaded onto the Barge Jozef and transported to the site by water. The remaining equipment was transported by truck.

In total, it took ten days to assemble all of the equipment. The assembly on land was quite difficult, however, due to very limited space. The Sarens team had only about a 2m clearance between the jacking towers and the riverbank!