Sarens, a provider of heavy lifting and engineered transport services, has replaced the 140-year-old Ponte al Pino bridge in Florence as part of efforts to improve safety for both rail and road users.
The company carried out the removal and installation of the structure over one of Italy’s main high-speed railway lines at Piazza Giorgio Vasari, a route managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
Removal of the old bridge, which spanned a key North-South rail artery, required complex engineering.
Sarens lifted three bridge sections weighing between 140t and 200t each, moving them from a 30m to a 52m radius before placing them onto self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) for transfer to a laydown area 300m away.
The firm then installed two new 180t bridge shoulders and a 390t bridge structure.
To complete the complex lifts and installation, Sarens deployed a CC8800-1 crawler crane with a 60m SSL boom and an 800t Superlift tray, along with 20 SPMT axles, gantry cranes, and hydraulic lifting equipment supplied by Zanetti Solution.
The logistical phase involved transporting specialised equipment from the US to Florence via the port of Marina di Carrara.
The move relied on 63 road transports, including 12 carrying heavy loads, and required delivery through Florence’s congested urban zones, mainly at night under strict traffic controls. Assembly of the crane took 10 days in high summer temperatures.
Sarens executed these operations during scheduled railway closures, with the aim of reducing disruption to the strategic link between Florence and Rome.
Work windows were coordinated by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana to limit the impact on rail services.
Sarens project manager Francesco Marzola said: “This project presented a multitude of logistical and operational challenges for our team, particularly given the tight urban space, severe traffic restrictions in Florence, and the non-negotiable timing imposed by the railway shutdowns.
“Thanks to meticulous advance planning, high equipment reliability, and close collaboration with our partners, we executed the lifts safely and efficiently without disrupting Italy’s vital high-speed rail network.”
The new bridge forms part of a wider infrastructure upgrade programme for Florence and the Italian railway network, focused on long-term safety and operational resilience.
The work was undertaken for Sveco-Siscom, as part of a project commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana.
