A Liebherr LR 1700-1.0 crane has been used as part of demolition job that included the closure of railway tracks and dismantling of overhead lines, in Hanau, Switzerland.
The Eisenstrassenbrücke, which is at the western end of the main railway station in Hanau, was initially built in 1959. Construction firm Max Wild, from Berkheim in Germany, and its crane partner, Emil Egger, are leading the scope of work for the project.
Work began in early December 2024, when an LR 1700-1.0 was assembled with a weight of 900 tonnes and a 60 m-long main boom paired with a 36 m-long derrick boom. The crane’s components were brought to the site on 38 trucks and were erected and calibrated by three Egger crane specialists and a 120-tonne telescopic crane across three days. The crane’s stability was provided by 50 tonnes of central ballast, 150 tonnes of revolving platform ballast, along with a large, suspended ballast.
By the end of December 2024, the first dismantling phase had been completed – comprising 15 lifts amounting to 4,000 tonnes of material. Because of both surroundings and the sensitive railway structure, demolition via blasting or hydraulic hammers was not possible so Max Wild opted to saw individual segments, which each weighed between 70-280 tonnes.
During sawing, the specific bridge section that was being cut out was attached to the LR 1700-1.0 with lifting straps and chains. The lifting equipment was under tension, as the load was only released and suspended from the crane’s hook when the last saw cut had been completed.
An additional 375 tonnes of suspended ballast had to be added on so that the heaviest part – which weighed 280 tonnes – could be lifted. The boom had to be luffed as soon as the component was released and hung on the hook, with the crane then having to move back and slew through roughly 180 degrees to place the bridge component on the dismantling site.
The 38 trucks carrying the components of the LR 1700-1.0 had to travel backwards under the bridge structure to the assembly site.
The crane, which is the second largest in Switzerland as well as the second largest in the Egger fleet behind the LR 11000, has remained at the site in preparation for the commencement of the second part of the assembly, which involves an additional 16 lifts.
