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The two 8-axle mobile cranes finish their complex job with girder number eight.
(Photo provided by Liebherr)
In the heart of Wuppertal Heckinghausen, the Hammesberg Wupper Bridge, constructed in 1965, faced a dire fate due to significant damage. The solution: a comprehensive replacement project employing the expertise of two powerful Liebherr mobile cranes — the LTM 1650-8.1 from Autokrane Schares GmbH and the LTM 1450-8.1 from Dornseiff Autokrane Schwertransporte GmbH. The mission? To lift and position eight hefty 85-tonne precast concrete elements seamlessly onto the abutments over the Wupper River.
The critical condition of the Wupperbrücke Hammesberg bridge necessitated its closure to vehicles weighing over 30 metric tons, accompanied by a 30 km/h speed limit. To keep the closure as brief as possible, an expedited construction approach using prefabricated components was chosen.
Strategic Tandem Lifts for a Pioneering Approach
Given the spatial constraints preventing a single crane from handling the colossal load independently, the decision was made to orchestrate tandem lifts. On one side of the river, the LTM 1650-8.1 meticulously hoisted the prefabricated reinforced concrete components from low-loaders across the Wupper to its lifting capacity limit. Simultaneously, on the opposite bank, the LTM 1450-8.1 stood ready to assist. Elevated technicians in a safety cage connected the 450-tonne crane's hook to a specialized triangular cross beam.
Schares project manager Eric Reichmann said, “Even the 800-tonne LTM 1750-9.1 wouldn’t have been able to install the girders on its own. Furthermore, the transport vehicle would not have been able to drive alongside the crane. There was simply not enough space. So we had to use both banks of the river. The tandem lift solution required a 160-tonne triangular cross beam and an additional mobile crane with a safety cage. For this, we utilized our LTM 1100-4.1 with emergency take down system. When attaching the hook on the lifting gear below the triangular cross beam, different cable lengths were used to achieve a slight inclination of the concrete beams for installation on the slightly divergent abutment heights.”
Executing this unconventional tandem method, a total of eight 32-meter-long reinforced concrete girders spanned the Wupper in a remarkable two-day timeframe. Anticipated to reopen to traffic in the spring, the bridge replacement project showcases the effectiveness of collaborative precision in the face of complex challenges.
