A new railway bridge has been successfully installed near Avignon, France by Aertssen Cranes, a company based in Antwerp. The bridge deck, weighing 220 tonnes and measuring 24.80 metres long and 4.80 metres wide, was raised for SPMT installation using an Enerpac JS-250 jack-up system. The lifting system provided stability during high winds, allowing the installation preparations to continue uninterrupted.
To ensure a safer working environment, the bridge deck was assembled on site at ground level on two header beams. Aertssen Cranes was responsible for positioning two abutments, each weighing 350 tonnes, and then installing the bridge deck over a single weekend. The compact construction site and tight timeline made the JS-250 jack-up system the most efficient lifting system to use.
The JS-250 lifting beams were attached to the header beams with round synthetic rope slings and lifted the bridge deck to a height of 7.8m using a 10m lift. A SPMT equipped with climbing jacks was then positioned under the deck, which was lowered onto it and transported to the abutments for installation.
According to Manuel Aertssen, the business development manager of Aertssen Group, the JS-250 jack-up system’s small footprint was beneficial for use in a confined construction site. “At the request of the main contractor, we needed to execute a test lift of all our equipment 48 hours before the final installation with SPMTs,” he said. “Due to high winds, we were able to lower the bridge deck to a safer height without losing valuable time during the final installation preparations.”
The multi-point lifting system of Enerpac JS-Series jack-up comprises four jack-up towers, each situated under one corner of the load. In the lifting frame of each jack-up tower, there are four hydraulic cylinders that raise and pile up steel barrels. The load is elevated incrementally as the barrels are inserted and stacked by an automated system to create the lifting towers. The balance of the load is maintained by the jack-up’s synchronous technology, while a single operator manages the lifting and lowering operations of each tower simultaneously
