May 30 - Hydra-Slide's hydraulic skidding systems, supplied and operated by M&J Total Transport & Rigging (TTR), have been utilised in the Maritime Link project in Canada.
The 500 MW project involves building 170 km of subsea high-voltage direct current (HVdc) transmission cables under the Cabot Strait, in addition to overhead transmission in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
TTR's fleet includes two LP400 low profile hydraulic skidding systems, capable of pushing loads up to 400 tons (362.9 tonnes), which were utilised by deugro (Canada) to transport seven ABB transformers and set them on foundations at sites in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland for the project.
The low profile slide systems moved four transformers, three weighing 160 tons (145.2 tonnes) and the other 203 tons (184.2 tonnes), in Woodbine, Nova Scotia and three 160-ton (145.2-tonne) units near Bottom Brook, Newfoundland.
Jason Jenkins, vice president at TTR, explained that the Hydra-Slide equipment was key to final positioning of the transformers that had already travelled by ocean vessel and road.
TTR gained approval from the authorities to shut down a few kilometres of the Trans-Canada highway, so it could transport the units on the wrong side of the road before the LP400s were utilised for the "precise and final positioning of the heavy loads," added Jenkins.
Hydra-Slide launched a newer model of the LP400 - the LP350 - which features a graphic-steel slide surface, replacing the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW) pads. According to Hydra-Slide, the LP350 is capable of pushing loads up to 350 tons (310 tonnes).
