Tasmanian rebuild
26 June 2014Pfeiffer Cranes used two all terrain cranes from Grove to dismantle and rebuild a 92m bridge in Tasmania in three days. The GMK5220 and GMK5100 worked in windy coastal conditions to remove old sections of a railway bridge and put 30t concrete spans in place.
Before work got underway, the main contractor, VEC Civil Engineering, built temporary falsework alongside the existing bridge to carry the GMK5220. The crane was carefully positioned on the falsework to evenly displace its weight and performed all lifts from just two positions. It was set up with its full 77t counterweight.
Working at a 20m radius, the 220t capacity GMK5220 began by removing the railway panels, ballast and deck boards before lifting each of the . ve old spans onto trucks. It then installed the new 19m long spans, before replacing the old deck and new rail panels.
The 100t capacity GMK5100 was used in the hardstand area to load and unload trucks. The crane fitted with its full 31t counterweight, lifted 30t loads at an 11m radius.
During the work, Manitowoc Crane Care's dedicated service technician based in Tasmania was on hand to help with any challenges at the job site. In addition, Manitowoc Crane Care offers a contact center that provides remote support 24/7 and this gave the contractor full confidence that any holdups in work could quickly be resolved.
Pfeiffer Cranes purchased its GMK5220 in 2010 and the crane has been in almost constant use since then. Both it and the GMK5100 have worked on other infrastructure projects including the Brighton Bypass, and a host of general lifting jobs at hospitals, mines and industrial plants.
The GMK5220 is a five-axle, all-terrain crane with a 68 m main boom, which can be extended to 108 m with a jib. The GMK5100 also runs on five-axles and offers a 51 m boom, which extends to 88 m with a jib.
The bridge rebuild took place around the clock on the Don River in Devonport. The five span bridge which dates back to 1886 carries Tasmania's north western main line train network. This meant that work had to be completed as quickly as possible to limit the impact of a shut down.
The GMK5220 and GMK5100, which have 220t and 100t capacities were selected for the job as they could perform lifts at a substantial radii. This reduced the number of set ups and moves saving time on the job site.
