Sarens Lifts Paired Braced Bridge Girders in the UK
Sarens performed lift of the bridge segments at the Lincoln Bypass in record time
19
October 2018

Braithwaite Engineers commissioned Sarens on behalf of Galliford Try Infrastructure to lift the bridge girders at the Lincoln by-pass in Lincoln, UK. The Bridge was being constructed over the operational railway line which was closed to trains for executing the project. 

Since the site had high voltage power lines, so selecting the equipment and placing them between the wires was a challenge for the team. The presence of wires also made the working area very tight and congested. Sarens decided to deploy the AK680-3 as it is capable of lifting the bridge girders from their erection position without the use of the superlift tray. The superlift tray was connected once the crane had slewed the load around towards its final position. 

The AK680-3 and other support equipment was driven to site from the Middlesbrough office in the UK. It took around 4 days to complete the rigging of the crane. The rigging was difficult as there was a fairly steep gradient on site in the area where the back mast and main boom needed to be built, this made rigging of the crane more challenging. 

Our team of four crew members lifted four paired and braced bridge girders. The heaviest lift performed was 107T at 48.8m radius. The crane could only slew in one direction due to the presence of the power lines. The team completed the challenging task in a duration of 10 hours, releasing the traffic for the trains in the specified time. 

The customer was extremely pleased with the performance of the crane and our crew. Project Manager for Galliford Try Infrastructure, Steven Flanagan says, ""I take this opportunity to add my thanks for painstakingly delivering what was a fantastic and well deserved outcome. I am really appreciative of all the hard work, both during the possession and in the many weeks leading up to the big event!" 

Watch the video of the project here!