Mammoet transports electrical transformer using SPMTs and cranes

TenneT is currently expanding the electrical grid in the Breukelen-Kortrijk area, situated between the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht. As part of this expansion, the energy supplier is constructing a new high voltage substation. The electrical transformer, which was built by Royal SMIT Transformers in Nijmegen, will be used to convert electricity from the national grid into the regional grid.

Mammoet transported the 325t electrical transformer across two of the busiest thoroughfares in the Netherlands while minimizing the delays for travelers.

En route to its new destination, the transformer had to pass over both the railway from Amsterdam to Utrecht and the A2 freeway between these two cities. Because these roads are two of the most important traffic arteries in the Netherlands, traffic disruptions had to be kept to a minimum. Mammoet therefore came up with a two-phase plan that reduced delays for travellers as much as possible.

The first phase was executed during the weekend of September 24th. The transformer was shipped to the Amsterdam-Rhine Channel, which runs next to the railway and freeway from Amsterdam to Utrecht. After arrival at the channel, the transformer was lifted from the inland vessel and positioned behind the channel dike by two floating cranes.

From there, a Mammoet crawler crane subsequently lifted the transformer over the railway track. This part of the operation was executed between 1am and 5am to minimize railway delays.

The transformer was then lifted onto several SPMTs, which drove it across a pasture and onto the A2 freeway. Through careful preparation, Mammoet was able to move the transformer over the freeway in approximately 15 minutes, keeping the amount of time that the freeway was closed to a minimum.

The second part of the transport took place in the weekend of October 8th. The transformer was first transported across the A2 freeway from Utrecht to Amsterdam on SPMTs. It then continued its path to the high voltage substation over the A2 from Amsterdam to Utrecht.

The SPMTs left the freeway via an exit that was specially constructed for the transformer. The exit, a 125m steel ramp,  had been specially designed and constructed by Mammoet to safely bridge the height difference between the freeway and the high voltage station.

The electrical transformer is currently positioned next to the high voltage station. It will be installed inside the station once construction of the foundation has been completed.