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Sarens use dual lift to repair Humbeek Bridge in one weekend

Global heavy lifting and logistics specialist Sarens has successfully lifted a 165-tonne bridge deck in a single weekend on the Humbeek Bridge in Belgium.

Heavy lifting and logistics specialist Sarens has successfully completed a dual lift on a damaged 165-tonne deck on the Humbeek Bridge in Temse, Belgium.

The global heavy lifting company was able to remove the damaged bridge deck in a single weekend, allowing business to resume as usual on the Belgian canal that flows under the Humbeek bridge.

After a boat hit the deck of the Humbeek bridge, Sarens contacted its client Herbosch-Kiere to offer a barge to remove the damaged bridge deck as soon as possible. Sarens spoke with its client on the Friday, which resulted in Sarens’ technical solutions and engineering team shipping a 19m-wide barge to the jobsite to bypass a 19.5m-wide bridge.

On top of the barge, Sarens also deployed two of its 700-tonne Liebherr mobile cranes, SPMTs, and a CS350 jacking system among other equipment to perform the dual lift and complete the necessary repairs.

One of the key difficulties for Sarens was the low height required for picking up the bridge, with only 1.2m between the bridge deck and water level. The team were able to gain an extra 40cm of clearance, however, thanks to the lowering of the water by WenZ, which enabled the barge and SPMTs to sail below the bridge.

After gaining suitable access and clearance through the canal, Sarens picked up the 165-tonne bridge deck with the barge and SPMTs. Once its complete weight had been taken on by the SPMTs and barge, the crew ballasted the barge one metre higher to reach above the concrete structure with the bridge. The crew proceeded to move the barge as far forward as possible to enable a 90-degree turn, before they drove a circle with the SPMTs to position the bridge deck in between the barge before sailing away.

The barge then sailed to Wintam, where a dual lift was awaiting the damaged bridge-deck. The Sarens team needed to work in a critical time window that allowed the barge to enter at high tide, meaning the bridge needed to be lifted in three hours. The five-metre separation from the cranes and quayside was equally important for safety in the lift, as was their distance from each other to allow the cranes to pass through while slewing.

Seven team members helped facilitate this lift-and-shift project which was completed across one weekend, allowing the Brussels-Scheldt canal to open once more.

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