The 1600-tonne capacity crane has been supplied by Mammoet for main contractor Farrans and its steel subcontractor Victor Buyck Steel Construction.
The crane was in place for when south approach viaduct (SAV) steel sections 1 and 3 arrived at the construction site on Lake Lothing on the evening of Sunday 23rd April on a barge from Ghent in Belgium.
Fabricated by Victor Buyck, SAV1 is approximately 35 metres long and 105 tonnes and SAV3 is 41 metres and 213 tonnes.
The CC8800 was, in its day, the world’s biggest series production mobile crane. It was launched in 2001 by Germany’s Mannesmann Demag with a 1,250-tonne rate capacity, later uprated to 1,600 tonnes and then made available in a 3,200-tonne capacity twin-boom version. Within months, Demag was acquired by Terex of the USA. In 2019 it was taken over by Tadano of Japan.
Mammoet’s CC8800 was shipped into Lowestoft from Copenhagen last month and off-loaded by the Liebherr LR 1600 crane that had previously been used to unload the northern approach sections that arrived from the Netherlands last month. [See previous report here.]
Assembly and testing of the Demag crane took 10 days.
SAV3 will be offloaded first and placed on a temporary base. SAV1 will then be offloaded directly into position on the southern approach abutment and pier 1.
The barge will then sail back to Ghent to collect SAV2 and SAV4. SAV2 is 30 metres long and weighs 90 tonnes, while SAV4 is 45 metres long and 381 tonnes.
After the return crossing – due to take place in the coming days subject to weather conditions – the barge will be moored up and SAV2 offloaded directly onto piers 1 and 2.
SAV3 will then be picked up from the temporary base and placed onto piers 2 and 3. Finally, SAV4 will be lifted directly from the barge onto piers 3 and 4.
Once in place, a site weld and bolted splices will secure the four sections to each other. A concrete pour will then set the viaduct in its final position.
Farrans Construction project director Neil Rogers said: “This week’s arrival of four large sections of the bridge is an important and busy time for our site team. A lot of planning takes place in advance of the sections being transported into Lowestoft and, once here, we will be beginning the process of lifting these elements into position almost immediately.
“To have one of the largest cranes in the world on site for this project is a fantastic learning opportunity for our apprentices, graduates and placements.”
Simon Bretherton, project director for client organisation Suffolk County Council, said: “The arrival of these next sections will see the structure take shape for the first time on both sides of Lake Lothing. This is another major step forward and we continue to make good progress on building what will be an iconic structure providing a new era for jobs, businesses and connectivity for the town of Lowestoft and the wider area.”
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