Engineered Solutions delivers 700 tonnes Heavy bridge in position
September 11, 2023
When I joined Felbermayr Germany, this project was on my desk,” says Martin van der Pluijm, looking back. “Six months later, it was great to see how drawings and calculations have come to life and will contribute to mobility in Germany in the future.” A successful première for the new project manager of Felbermayr’s Engineered Solutions division.
The task was to push in an arched bridge weighing 700 tonnes, 76 metres long and 18 metres wide, which had been erected next to the railway and Federal Highway "B8". For the bridge builder and client Max Bögl, this is the longest modular bridge. It spans the railway line between Emmerich and Oberhausen at an acute angle, which Deutsche Bahn plans to expand to three tracks by 2025.
Lifted with step presses
First of all, Felbermayr lifted the steel giant to a height of three metres at the pre-assembly site using step presses. “Due to the height, width and wind load, we then positioned two SPMT (Self propelled modular transporter) with 18 axle lines each underneath,” explains project manager van der Pluijm and continues: “A so-called cassette system with four towers was installed on the two SPMTs to stack the bridge up to the insertion height of eight metres. Each of these towers was designed for a load capacity of 500 tonnes. To minimise deflection in the SPMTs, the middle axles were raised slightly.” Once the insertion height had been reached, tubes were finally installed as stiffeners.
Felbermayr has been operating with Engineered Solutions since October 2020. As a result, the industrial services provider has considerably expanded its range of technical solutions for the heavy goods sector and has already implemented many new innovative technical solutions.
Slid in with millimetre precision
The next day, the specialists from the Engineered Solutions division slowly set the more than 800 tonnes of transportation weight in motion. This was done on a temporary construction road built using steel plates. After just a few hours, the truss arch bridge was positioned, lowered by 60 centimetres and set down on the abutments with millimetre precision - and the spectacular operation was successfully completed. “On a day like this, everything has to work. And it all worked out,” says van der Pluijm happily.
Bridge spans “Trans-European Network”
Wesel is located on the railway line between Emmerich and Oberhausen, which is to be modernised by Deutsche Bahn and extended to three tracks over the next few years. This also made the new bridge necessary. This 73-kilometre section is part of the Trans-European Networks and connects the Rhine/Ruhr conurbation to the north with the Netherlands. As such, it connects to the 160-kilometre-long Dutch Betuwe Line, which was completed in 2007. This is one of the most modern freight transport routes in the world and runs from Rotterdam’s North Sea port Europoort to the German-Dutch border. The route extends southwards as part of the European freight transport corridor to the port of Genoa in northern Italy.
