Ainscough bridges for Crossrail

Two new footbridges and a road bridge with a combined weight of almost 600 tonnes were lifted into place by Ainscough using 500 tonne capacity cranes as part of continuing work for the Crossrail project in London, UK.

One of the bridges, the Middlegreen Road Bridge, Langley, was lifted by Ainscough Crane Hire, the UK's largest crane rental company, using a Liebherr LG 1550 lattice boom truck crane. The Trenches Bridge in Slough and the Old Stockley Road Bridge in Hillingdon were also lifted using a 500 tonne capacity crane. The lifts were carried out during Easter break at the end of March.

David Lawson, Network Rail senior programme manager, Crossrail, said, “The completion of these bridge reconstructions marks an important step forward for the Crossrail programme as we prepare the existing railway for the new electric Crossrail trains. Crossrail will transform public transport, making it quicker and easier for people to get to a range of destinations across London and the South East. Residents in west London and Berkshire will benefit from new trains and frequent services that allow them to get right through the capital and beyond without having to change trains.”

Work to link the new bridges to existing highways can now begin. The four bridges are expected to re-open between April and June 2013.

Further work that was carried at the site included the installation of 24 reinforced concrete piles. The 30 metre long piles were installed to form the foundations of the flyover that will allow Crossrail trains to get to and from Heathrow.

On completion, the Crossrail project will increase London's rail-based transport network capacity by 10%. The Crossrail route will run for run 118 km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21 km tunnels below central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

Work is due to finish in 2018.