Bridge St Rail Bridge Replacement in Muswellbrook

Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) carried out major construction project to remove and replace the existing Bridge St rail bridge in Muswellbrook on Monday, November 22. Major works on the removal began at 6.30am on Monday, followed by the installation of the replacement bridge until 8.30pm on Friday, November 26. The removal of the Bridge St rail bridge is part of works by ARTC to replace three rail bridges in Muswellbrook including Bridge St Bridge, the Hunter River Bridge and the Muscle Creek Bridge as part of a $58 million project.

ARTC Group Executive Hunter Valley Wayne Johnson said the bridges would be replaced due to their age and condition and the upgrades are essential to operating a safe and reliable rail network. Mr. Johnson said the project would provide a solid economic boost for the Muswellbrook area, with up to 200 people working on it at various stages over the next two years.

“We are proud to deliver this construction project that will help jumpstart the economy given the current financial environment. Stimulation the economy during these difficult times is absolutely critical,” he said.

ARTC has engaged Laing O’Rourke as the principal contractor for detailed design and construction. Project to commence and continue until June 2022.

Working together with the ARTC and Laing O’Rourke, Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift deployed its 600t Terex Demag CC2800-1 crawler crane to remove the existing Bridge St rail bridge and install the replacement bridge over the period of four days and nights. In a statement, ARTC said works to be carried out during the day and night during the planned works period to reduce the length of disruption to the community and the rail network.

The project was led by Kyle Greenwood, Operations Supervisor at Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift Muswellbrook. “We deployed our 600t capacity Terex Demag CC2800-1 to assist, firstly remove the old bridge, then help construct Bridge St rail bridge over the New England Highway.”

“The initial stages of the project saw the CC2800-1 installing precast concrete girders and installing precast concrete deck panels. The heaviest girder we lifted weighed 138t. The crane was set in Superlift (SSL) configuration, with 66m of main boom, 30m bask mast, 180t superstructure counterweight, 60t car body counterweight and 300t of Superlift counterweight. We had our Sennebogen 683R onsite to support the 600t with its superlift tray weight changes,” said Greenwood.

“The lift radius was 35m for the girder and we also had to lift 36t deck panels out to 54m. Because we had meticulously planned the project, everything went to plan and there wasn’t anything too complicated about the lifts.

“Unfortunately, the one factor we couldn’t control was the weather and it was wet leading up to the shutdown. This meant the crane pad was re-certified by a Geotech a couple of hours before the lifts commenced to ensure ground stability,” he said.

The Demag CC 2800-1 is a crawler crane with a lifting capacity of 600t. The maximum boom length is 138m and the maximum jib length is 36m.

The car body and crawler side frames are made of high strength fine grain structural steel for bending and torsion resistant. The track shoes, idler, and drive sockets of the crawlers are made of heat-treated high strength cast steel. There are 15 rollers with hardened rolling surfaces on each side of the crawlers and an automatic centralised lubrication system. The frame of the superstructure, also torsion resistant and made of high strength fine grain steel, is connected to the carrier frame by a triple-row roller bearing slew-ring.

The engine is a Daimler Chrysler OM 502 LA. This Tier III compliant diesel engine is rated at 530 horsepower. The pump distribution gearbox has five variable displacement axial piston pumps, a silencer with a spark arrestor, and gear pumps.

Source: Cranes and Lifting | Muswellbrook Chronicle

Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift:
Our Fleet Range  |  Our Capabilities  |  Load Charts  |  Contact Us

We are crane hire, heavy lifting and specialised transport division of the Tutt Bryant Group.