March 21 - ALE's 4,300-tonne capacity AL.SK190 crane will begin work at Capital & Countries Properties' (Capco) project at Earls Court, London, UK.
The 120 m high crane, which ALE claims is the largest capacity lifting crane ever to be used in London, will complete the first lifts in late March 2017.
The AL.SK190 crane will lift 61 concrete portal beams, ranging in weight from 80 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes, out from over the London underground lines. The beams, which supported the weight of the Earls Court exhibition centres that were demolished last year, need to be removed to enable construction on the site.
David Rowe, technical manager for Keltbray, the specialist contractor working in partnership with Capco, said: "By utilising this crane and lifting method, disruption is minimised and the crane's high capacity and precision lifting technology will reduce the overall project timescale considerably. With the successful demolition of the former exhibition centres last year, the lifting of the large portal beams is the next big task at Earls Court as we prepare the site for construction."
According to ALE, the method of removing the portal beams has been designed to minimise the impact on local residents, to help reduce the carbon footprint of the project and to significantly shorten the project timescales.
Work is expected to conclude by the end of 2017.
