Sandhurst breaker takes down M1 bridge

By Sarah Ann McCay05 November 2012

Sandhurst Equipment Rental supplied Armac Demolition Ltd with an Atlas Copco HB5800 breaker to assis

Sandhurst Equipment Rental supplied Armac Demolition Ltd with an Atlas Copco HB5800 breaker to assist in demolishing the bridge on the M1 at Toddington

UK rental firm Sandhurst Equipment Rental helped Armac Demolition Ltd, acting on behalf of main contractor Costain, to demolish a bridge overnight on the M1 at Toddington.

Both M1 carriageways had to be closed during the demolition process, so speed was of the essence. Sandhurst supplied a 5,800 kg (12,760 lb) breaker from its West Midlands depot. The Atlas Copco HB5800 supplied 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 attached to 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, as part of a motorway improvement scheme between junctions 10 and 13.

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