37
INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
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OCTOBER 2013
Tight corners were just one reason why Wagenborg called on SPMT to help with the
installation of the 200 metre long and 675 tonne De Netkous bridge.
IC
reports
T
ransport and lifting company
Wagenborg helped transport and
install a 200 metre long bridge in
Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The bridge, which is named the
De Netkous, crosses the Betuwe rail track
and the highway A15. It was manufactured
by VDS Staal- en Machinebouw in
Nieuwdorp, Netherlands. As
part of the Green Connection
project it will serve as a bicycle
and pedestrian route for people
wanting access to areas outside
the south of Rotterdam.
To carry out the installation
Wagenborg first had to
transport the bridge from
the manufacturing site in
Nieuwdorp to the Port of
Rotterdam. To do this the bridge
was transported in two parts.
The first section of the bridge
measured 100 m long and weighed
350 tonnes, whilst the second section
measured 90 m long and weighed
325 tonnes.
The parts were loaded onto a barge by
roll-on, roll-off (RORO) method using self
propelled modular transporter (SPMT)
at Flushing, Nieuwdorp. From here the
barge sailed to the ECT City Terminal in
the Port of Rotterdam. On arrival at the
port, the pieces were unloaded and put
SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
into storage before the second phase of the
transportation process could be carried out.
Night closures
For the second phase of the transport
project the bridge parts were loaded onto
two 16-axle conventional trailers. Once
loaded the parts were transported from the
Ro-ro operations
in Flushing
Trans-shipment with two floating cranes
ECT City Terminal to the construction site
along the A15. To carry out this stage of the
journey all the access roads to and from the
A15 had to be closed.
Challenges during this stage of the
journey included limited driving space
and narrow corners. On arrival at site,
the bridge pieces were installed onto
foundation blocks using two 500 tonne
mobile cranes and a Terex Demag CC 2200
crawler crane. The bridge sections were
then moved on the SPMT between the
crane hooks so they could be lifted into
position onto the foundations.
The lifts and moves were carried out
over several nights.
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Convoy ready for take-off to highway A15
Positioning with self propelled modular
transporter under the crane hook
No bridge too far
