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Leading lifting solutions company, Ainscough Crane Hire has assisted in the successful replacement of a railway bridge along the Leeds and Liverpool canal near Burscough, West Lancashire.
Ainscough was appointed by engineering and construction firm J Murphy and Sons Ltd (Murphy) to remove and replace the existing single-span bridge. The new 20.0m long bridge was then lifted into place before being completed with new track lines and approach units.
Plans for the project had been in development for two years. The owner and infrastructure manager of the railway network, Network Rail, implemented a 108-hour blockade whilst construction works on the bridge were underway. A specialist Ainscough contract lift team alternated shifts over a period of three days, working to a tight deadline to ensure the bridge could be in use immediately following completion.
Site conditions made for complex planning and lift operation. With the area subject to a high water table, the Murphy temporary works team designed and constructed a crane platform to which Ainscough Crane Hire added 30 steel mats, distributing the loadings to an acceptable level.
To facilitate the bridge deconstruction and reconstruction the Terex CC2800-1 crane on an 84.0m SSL main boom and 300.0te of suspended counterweight was utilised. This allowed the restricted area to be used to full advantage when travelling with the new 80.0te bridge deck.
Dave Baxter, Technical Contracts Manager at Ainscough, said: “Completing works on the new rail bridge has been a brilliant, collaborative project to work on. Our client Murphy did an outstanding job with their design plan which, combined with the dedication of our own expert operators, produced a brilliant team effort under tight time pressure.”
