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27th December 2016

Ainscough Heavy Crane Hire Help Get A1 On The Move

crane on motorway

Ainscough Crane Hire’s heavy cranes division has helped to complete a major upgrade to the A1 in North Yorkshire which has seen Cleveland Bridge UK (CBUK) Ltd manufactured and installed eight new bridges for Highways England’s principal contractor on the A1 scheme, a joint venture between Carillion and Morgan Sindall.

Built with British made steel, the eight bridges form part of the project to upgrade a 12 mile section of dual-carriageway to a three-lane motorway easing congestion on the vital road link to the north east. The upgrade will create a 300 mile motorway-standard route between London and Newcastle for the very first time.

The final step in the 20 month project was the installation of the 53 metre long Fort Overbridge close to the town of Catterick.

Using a Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1, 500 tonne all-terrain crane with a 75 tonne counterweight and a 42.1 metre guyed main boom, the bridge was installed by Ainscough in two sections during a scheduled overnight closure of the highway.

Heavy cranes – operational director, Andrew Winter, said: “As with any road or rail possession, the window to deliver the lift was finite and we had to ensure that we had completed the lifts and were off site at the scheduled time.

“This is only ever achieved through detailed and robust planning matched with the skill and competence of the operations team. Once again, we delivered for our customer and played a part in the delivery of this vital project for the region.”

Chris Droogan, Managing Director of Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd, said: “The widening of the A1 in North Yorkshire is an essential part of improving the transport infrastructure of the North and we are very pleased to have played a key part in its delivery.

“This was a highly time-focused project involving the production and installation of around 1,600 tonnes of steel. Working closely with our client we have efficiently completed the delivery of the bridges, which is a significant milestone in this major civil engineering project.”

CBUK fabricated and provided protective treatments to the steel work for the bridges allowing the newly widened A1 in North Yorkshire to span over existing roads and rivers or carry existing access roads over the new highway.

Ainscough’s Heavy Cranes Division is administratively based in Preston but is a national resource available for hire throughout the company’s entire depot network. Ainscough worked to sub-contractor MJ Hughes on this project.

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