German crane and logistics provider Wasel deployed two LR 11000 crawler cranes, along with five further Liebherr cranes, for a bridge replacement project between Bottrop and Essen, in Germany.
Along with the two 1,000-tonne capacity crawler cranes, five other Liebherr cranes were used: a 450-tonne crane, an LTM 1230-5.1, an LTM 1250-5.1, an LTR 1220, and a 100-tonne mobile crane. The LR 10000 models were configured with 96 and 84 m boom lengths, operating with 130 tonnes of central ballast, 250 tonnes of turntable ballast and 450 or 340 tonnes of derrick ballast.
Wasel’s project manager, Viktor Hein, divided the project into two phases, with the first seeing two new bridge sections – each weighing 220 tonnes and measuring 71 m x 7 m x 6 m – delivered by ship along the Rhine-Herne Canal. The two LR 11000 cranes lifted the segments in tandem lifts off the ship and placed them on a prepared pre-assembly area, with centimetre precision necessary for the first segment to squeeze between the two LR 11000s.
The existing pipe bridge was then dismantled and the new steel bridge slotted into place. To do this, one of the two LR 11000 cranes had to be dismantled at the pre-assembly area and then transported around 1,000 m via the A42 before being re-assembled on the motorway with a 72 m main boom. To prevent structural damage during lifting operations, steel corsets were used to dismantle the old pipe bridge, which was made up of four concrete sections.
“The operator and assembly-friendly design meant that we were able to relocate one of the two in the shortest possible time from the pre-assembly area to the assembly area via the motorway,” said Hein. “The project was completed two days earlier than the five days that had been planned.”
Liebherr has also seen Indian cargo handling firm Green Energy Resources invest in two of its electric LHM 550 mobile harbour cranes (MHCs), which combine a four-rope grab system with a 124-tonne safe working load. The MHCs were delivered fully assembled to Vizag port, India, aboard the dship vessel, Charlie, with Green Energy Resources looking to make the cranes operational immediately.
