C&L, Cranes & Lifting, Features

Turnkey Tutt on show in Western Australia

Tutt Bryant's expertise was on show in W.A

Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift has been busy showcasing its transport, logistical and engineering expertise on a project in Western Australia that saw the delivery and assembly of Western Australia’s new Causeway Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridges project.

100 truckloads to transport a crane, liaison with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and placing 100-tonne loads at radii of over 100m doesn’t fall under the banner of every day work.

Yet, for Felix Marquez Jr, Engineering Team Lead at Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift, every day work is not what he and his team perform – and this was on show for all to see with the assembly of a new bridge in Perth, Western Australia.

The national heavy lift division of Tutt Bryant Group was contracted by the Causeway Link Alliance – comprising of Civmec Construction and Engineering Pty Ltd., Seymour Whyte, WSP Australia and Main Roads WA – to supply a turnkey logistical solution for the new Causeway Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridges that spans from Victoria Park to Perth’s CBD.

At the heart of the project is the goal of completely separating path users from traffic, enhancing safety for both cyclists and pedestrians traversing the bridge.

To achieve this, Main Roads WA began planning and development for the bridge to be built connecting McCallum Park and Heirisson Island over the Swan River, before continuing to connect Heirisson Island to Point Fraser.

TBHLS was tasked with solving the problem of installing components that weighed up to 100 tonnes in capacity at distances of over 100m in radius; serendipitously, Australia’s largest crane – the Demag CC8800-1 – became available in Perth after a start delay on another project meant there was a small window of opportunity to use it on the Causeway Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridges project.

With a lifting capacity of 1600-tonnes and a maximum radius of 174m at which it can lift 14 tonnes, the crane lent itself well to the job.

Before the crawler crane could arrive and commence its assembly process, however, the subgrade of the operating areas needed to be addressed. With the crawler exerting 800kPa, TBHLS worked closely with Geotech engineering companies FSG Geotechnics & Foundations and WSP Australia to ensure the subgrade became strong enough to place the crawler crane on top of. Ultimately, TBHLS and the Geotech companies determined that a crane pad needed to be constructed involving steel beams and crawler mats and thus, the area reinforced, before the crawler was delivered to the site and began assembly.

As mentioned, the Demag CC8800-1 was required to lift loads of around 100 tonnes at radii of over 100m. To complete its scope of work, TBHLS put the machine in SSL/LSL configuration with 144m of main boom and 640 tonnes of full superlift counterweight – a configuration that was devised following close liaison with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority due to the proximity of Perth airport. Also helping the Demag CC8800-1 in its endeavours was the 800-tonne Sany SCC8000A that was configured in HDB mode with 90m of boom and 390 tonnes in superlift counterweight. To help configure the two cranes, TBHLS deployed its 275-tonne HSC SCX2800-2 crawler as an auxiliary machine.

Simultaneously, while the cranes were being established in their appropriate configuration, TBHLS was showcasing the transport capabilities of its business. The project was headed by Operations Manager – Specialised Lifting and Transport, Ryan Ockenden, who possesses in excess of 20 years of experience at Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift. Having worked his way through Brambles, Kingston, and Lampson while focusing on trailer duties, Ryan holds a wealth of experience in specialised transport.

According to Ryan, the project team that is led by Greg Dunlop – Senior Project Manager, was tasked with overcoming challenges offered by this project, with access to site being limited to certain entrances that approached onto two high volume-traffic highways.

Further considerations taken were the presence of nearby residences, trees and existing surfaces, with Ryan saying minimising disruption on the existing environment was at the top of the priority list. Utilising a mixture of prime movers and trailers – such as TBHLS’ Nicolas Jinker, self-propelled, and Platform trailer with 24 axle lines – Ryan says the team was able to overcome the challenges by closely collaborating with Main Roads WA and the client to determine the most suitable pathway to accessing the job site and delivering the modules required to assemble the bridges.

One such difficulty arose when transporting a 9.66m wide module, where the traditional maximum legal size transportable being 8.5m. This, too, was matched by the different shape of all loads being transported, due to the curved, modular nature of the bridge, providing more logistical and engineering issues for the team in its attempt to minimise impact on local traffic flow.

However, as Ryan says, the team worked closely on traffic management, planned route surveys, notification drops, and liaised with the client through both the tendering process and the last 12-24 months, thereby ensuring any complications that ensued were overcome or managed. and, as detailed by Ryan, when transporting a 47m pylon to a job site, every millimetre and every consideration needs to be factored in.

For Felix, Ryan, the engineering and operations teams, the transport part of the project highlighted that the challenges to be overcome were not just on a civil engineering level, but also on a planning and preparation level to ensure timely and effective delivery of the project. With the lifting complete on the McCallum Park side of the bridge, TBHLS’ attention is now turned to the Point Fraser side of the bridge, where the Sany SCC8000A is set to take over the heavy lifting duties, assembling the bridge before working in tandem with the 275-tonne HSC to tandem lift the unique, project-defining boomerang shaped pylon into place.

After a long and successful stint in Melbourne before being transported to the other side of the country and placing loads at distances of over 100m in Perth, the 1600-tonne Demag is now being sent to the resources sector where it will be lifting components weighing up to 700 tonnes.

Ultimately, for Felix and the Tutt Bryant Heavy Lift & Shift team, the continued delivery of the Causeway Pedestrian and Cycling Bridges has been derived from the close liaison with relevant authorities to ensure configurations are right, restrictions are adhered to, and rules are continually abided by.

The project that is set to improve safety, connectivity, as well as amenity between the Victoria Park foreshore and Perth’s CBD reflected the meticulous attention to detail the Australian engineered heavy lift and shift division provides to its transport, as well as being a prime example of the company’s capacity to provide turnkey logistical solutions.

For the TBHLS team, the effort was as much a logistical and transport one as it was engineering and heavy lifting.
Image: Main Roads W.A
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