Time is tight for Sarens as their crew only had 12 hours to finish the job. In a matter of hours, Sarens successfully lifted the 1,500 ton railroad bridge using their CS1000 jacking towers, which has been built on the quayside, and installed it over the water. In late April of 2020, Sarens has deployed four jacking towers, a twin barge, and SPMTs to install a 1,500 tonne railroad bridge over the Albert Canal in Kuringen, Belgium.
Although the installation itself was swift, the entire project planning period were set six months prior to accommodate the necessary railroad and canal closures to ensure a smooth operation. Rigging the equipment took approximately eight days and 54 trucks loads. Except for the barge and deck equipment, the rest of the equipment are transported from Sarens’ HQ in Wolvertem and Ghent.
List of equipment used for the project:
- 60 axle-lines SPMT and 6 PPUs
- 4 x CS1000 towers
- Sarens twin barge Karel-Victor
- 1 x Sarens support stool
- 6 x 12 ton winches
- 14 x wedges
- 2 x Krupp 12 ton cranes
- 1 x 70 ton rough terrain crane
- 1 x pushboat (external)
In order to raise the 120m long bridge into place, Sarens had to first jack up the barge, position the SPMTs, and drive one side of the bridge onto the barge. The barge then sailed to the other side of the canal, where one side of the bridge was driven off and positioned over the abutments. The preparation for this operation involved a crew of 4-6 people, and execution required 10 people.
“Projects like this are part of our daily activities,” says Peter Keyen, Senior Project Engineer. “We used standard equipment and time-tested methods. There are no big technical challenges for this kind of project, but our goal for similar future projects is to continue improving efficiency and reducing material usage.”
