ALE has performed the load-out and installation of a steel bridge using the Mega Jack 800 in Antwerp.
The Brug van den Azijn bridge, located over the Albert canal, weighed 1,200 tonnes and measured 124 m long.
The first stage involved the load-out of the bridge deck, where it was transported by barge from Wondelgem to Antwerp. The arches of the bridge were transported in pieces in order to pass underneath low bridges on the route to Antwerp.
Once in Antwerp, the bridge was discharged at a site near the final installation site. Here, the arches were fully assembled and then the entire bridge structure was loaded-out and transported by barge 2.5 km to the final installation site.
ALE's Mega Jack 800 was used to jack up the deck to a height of 8 m and position it above the abutments. The bridge was then lowered by 3 m in between the abutments and into its final position.
According to Tom Van De Locht, ALE's project engineer, using the Mega Jack 800 system reduced operational time and was easily integrated on site because of its small footprint. The operations were completed within two weeks.
In July last year, ALE began construction of a second Mega Jack 800 system, as HLPFI reported here. Like the first system, the jacking system will have four towers that are 12 m high, each with a capacity of 800 tonnes.
