Australia-based heavy lift tower crane specialist Marr Contracting (The Men from Marr’s) has installed two M2480D Heavy Lift Luffers (HLL) after being awarded the heavy lift contract for construction of the new Sydney Metro Crows Nest Station. Marr was commissioned by construction partner, A.W Edwards, after working with Sydney Metro during the front-end design of the project.
Marr’s engineering team were approached by Sydney Metro to develop a craneage methodology for the project after successfully delivering craneage solutions for a number of other Sydney Metro projects – including the Sydney Yard Access Bridge (SYAB) and station redevelopment at Central Station, and new station developments at Martin Place and Barangaroo. The goal for this project was to align the craneage methodology with the precast and modular construction methodology driven by Sydney Metro’s overall project delivery schedule.
Using two of Marr’s M2480DHLLs, the bespoke craneage solution addresses the challenge of how to provide the heavy lifting capacity the project needs within the small space of the station box construction site, said Marr. The solution also addresses other logistical challenges of the project – including handling large precast elements weighing up to 100 tonnes – all while working adjacent to one of Sydney’s busiest arterial roadways.
Highlighting the efficiency of the solution in terms of both lift capacity and radius, Simon Marr said, “The challenges associated with this project are largely to do with its location and where its construction schedule sits within the greater Sydney Metro project. Being able to work closely with the Sydney Metro team and have access to their engineering team during the design works was essential to developing a solution that took buildability, time and safety into consideration.
“The process took 18 months to complete, resulting in Sydney Metro issuing a considered and evaluated design for the Crows Nest Station construction tenderers, with a suitable craneage solution built into it. This meant that the project could transfer easily from contract award to construction in a short time frame.”
Construction on the A$370 million Sydney Metro Crows Nest station project commenced in January 2021. Metro services are expected to be operational by 2024, with Marr’s scope of work at Crows Nest complete in 2022.
