Atlas Copco bridge breaker solution for Armac

Armac Demolition Ltd, acting on behalf of main contractor Costain, demolished a bridge overnight on the M1 at Toddington, which involved closure of both the carriageways of this main UK motorway and required Armac to work fast to ensure that the M1 was reopened on time ready for Monday morning rush-hour traffic.

Armac used an Atlas Copco HB5800 to provide the main muscle for the 16-hour job, which required a total of 11 excavators of various sizes. The HB5800, suitable for carriers over 50 tonnes, was carried by one of Armac’s uprated long reach Cat 345CLs fitted with a standard boom.

The bridge weighed 1,400 tonnes and had been unused since May 2012 after the opening of a new replacement. For this project, the old structure had to be removed to make way for new slip roads at junction 12, part of a motorway improvement scheme between junctions 10 and 13.