The damaged Hammesberg Wupper Bridge, constructed in 1965, is undergoing replacement due to severe damage. The bridge, closed to vehicles over 30 tonnes, faced a speed limit of 30 km/h. To minimize closure time, a prefabricated parts construction method was chosen.
Two Liebherr mobile cranes, an LTM 1650-8.1 from Autokrane Schares GmbH and an LTM 1450-8.1 from Dornseiff Autokrane & Schwertransporte GmbH, performed tandem lifts to place eight 85-tonne precast concrete elements onto the abutments over the Wupper.
The unique tandem lift involved the LTM 1650-8.1 lifting parts from one side of the river, reaching its lifting capacity limit. The LTM 1450-8.1, positioned on the other side, took over, with technicians in a safety cage attaching the hook to a special triangular crossbeam. Schares project manager Eric Reichmann highlighted the necessity of this approach, stating that even an 800-tonne crane wouldn’t have sufficed due to space constraints.
The tandem lift, utilizing a 160-tonne triangular crossbeam and an additional mobile crane, successfully installed eight 32-meter-long reinforced concrete girders across the Wupper in two days. The bridge is expected to reopen to traffic in the spring.
