Bridge lift by Steil

Crane service provider Steil Saarwellingen, based in Trier, Germany, used a Terex Superlift 3800 to lift a concrete bridge from the Schwarzbach River in Zweibrücken, Germany.

Challenges included a small working area and narrow roads to the site, as René Perlich, Steil leader of the large cranes team, explained, “The access road to the bridge was particularly challenging. It was like going through the eye of a needle. We had to plan everything down to the very last detail and figure out when each component had to be delivered to the work site.”

Once on site, the 3800 was set up with the help of a Terex AC 200-1 all terrain crane. To lift the 78 tonne bridge, the 3800 was configured with 42 metre main boom, 253 tonnes of counterweight and 50 tonnes of central ballast.

The bridge’s reinforcements made it difficult for the team to calculate the exact weight of the bridge before the lift. To determine the bridge’s weight in advance, the team carried out a trial lift. Once all the preparations were complete, the Superlift 3800 lifted the concrete structure 10 m working at a radius of 27 m. The 3800 then moved back 4 m while under load and shortened its working radius by 1 m. The bridge was then lowered to the ground. The lift took 15 minutes.