The SCC6300 crane, with 630t maximum lifting capacity and 84m maximum boom length, was supplied by Belgian rental company Sarens Group.
The crawler will install nine 50m steel beams for the viaduct.
The 140m, three-span viaduct under construction crosses the Afon Glaslyn River at the Porthmadog bypass and runs parallel to the Cambrian Coast Mainline railway bridge. It lets traffic from Porthmadog, Tremadog and Minffordd across the river.
Bypass partnership project manager, Wyn Daniels said: “Construction of the Glaslyn bridge is a hugely challenging and exciting part of the bypass project.
“There has been considerable interest from the local community since the crane arrived, and it will be a prominent feature of the skyline for the coming weeks.”
Installing the viaduct has required extensive preparation, as Daniels explains. “Construction work beneath water level has been going on for several months, and once the sections of the beams had arrived on site they had to be spliced together using a smaller crane.“
The project is part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Porthmadog Minffordd and Tradog bypass scheme to build eight bridges, decreasing congestion and improving environmental conditions.
At an estimated £35 m, this is currently the largest civil engineering project in the region.
