No bridge too far for record-breaking Mammoet

Mammoet has used a 96-axle configuration of SPMTs to replace a 2,100t bridge in Ottawa, Canada -- said to be the heaviest lift of a structure over a motorway ever made in North America.

The rapid bridge replacement operation involved removing and replacing the Lees Avenue Bridge, an 85m-long curved section of road.

Originally planned to take between four and six hours, the project was completed in two-and-a-half hours, before the motorway underneath the bridge was re-opened.

The SPMTs, manufactured by Scheuerle, undertook a trial lift the day prior to the operation to ensure the load could be safely handled.

Steve Cripps, director at Ottawa's Rail Implemenation Office, said: "This heavy lift project was well planned and executed and an excellent example of the teamwork required to deliver the Highway 417 component of the OLRT Project. This project was another first in North America; the heaviest lift of a multi-span structure over a freeway to date."

Vipin Bansal, estimation and design builds manager at Tomlinson Ltd -- which commissioned Mammoet to complete the project -- said: "The Lees Avenue Rapid Bridge Replacement went without a glitch and it was a great team effort to make this project successful."