Dutch company heavy lifting and transport solutions company Wagenborg Nedlift recently employed Enerpac jack-up technology to successfully lift and install railway and pedestrian bridges in Leverkusen, Germany. By deploying the JS-250 Jack-Up and SCJ-100 cube jack systems, the company efficiently completed the bridge deck placements over a single weekend, allowing for the subsequent laying of new railway tracks on the Rhine-Ruhr Express line.
The ongoing upgrade of the Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) route aims to minimise delays caused by the convergence of long-distance, regional, and freight transport on the same tracks. At the Leverkusen site, the Rathenaustrasse bridge was widened to accommodate a new railway line on the Langenfeld/Leverkusen section. Wagenborg was entrusted with the installation of two additional bridges adjacent to the existing structure: a main track bridge and a pedestrian/cycle bridge. The challenge was to install both bridges without disrupting rail services, while keeping the tracks on the existing bridge operational throughout the entire weekend.
To expedite the installation process, Wagenborg conducted pre-assembly of both bridge decks at a height of 4.3 metres parallel to the rail line. Leveraging a combination of Enerpac jack-ups and SPMTs (Self-Propelled Modular Transporters), the teams moved the decks approximately 10-15 metres before lowering them onto bridge bearings to complete the installations. First, the JS-250 Jack-Up system, comprising four lifting towers resting on four SPMTs, was utilised to install the 483-tonne, 21-metre long, and 7.7-metre wide railway bridge. The deck was raised to a height of 7 meters, positioning it above the bridge abutments, and then precisely lowered into place using the jack-up system.
Next, the 90-tonne pedestrian and cycle bridge, measuring 7.5 metres long and 7.1 metres wide, was positioned using four SCJ-100 cube jacks mounted on a single SPMT. As the bridge deck was elevated to 5.5 metres, with the cube jacks reaching a height of 2.7 metres, bracing techniques were implemented to minimise sideload effects. The narrow gap allowed for the SPMT to manoeuvre through, and thanks to the cube jacks, the process of lowering the bridge deck took a mere 10 minutes, a significant improvement compared to the traditional jack and pack method that typically requires two hours.
