C&L, Cranes & Lifting, International, Projects

Unique assembly challenge overcome by Liebherr tower cranes

Liebherr tower cranes help construct a bridge in Spain.

Two Liebherr 420 EC-H 16 Litronic tower cranes are helping to renovate a 33-year-old road bridge in Seville, Spain.

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The bridge, the Puente Quinto Centenario, recently underwent an inspection that revealed the ageing nature of the cables securing the carriageway to the pylons, hence the need to replace them. The two Liebherr tower cranes are being used to lift metal pylon reinforcements weighing up to 7.5 tonnes at a height of 110m.

The project is being completed by Sancho Toro Sur, S.L, a tower crane rental company, with Managing Director, Israel Requena, praising the “efficiency, agility, and reliability” of the tower cranes on the job site.

“The work is a challenge for us and we’re happy to be involved in this important project,” he said. “The two Liebherr 420 EC-H 16 Litronic cranes are ideal for this job with their maximum hook height of 87.10m, 16-tonne lifting capacity and radius of up to 75m.”

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One of the main challenges facing Sancho Toro Sur was securing the tower cranes to the bridge’s pylons. The bridge’s carriageway is suspended by a total of 80 stay cables from two pylons erected on opposite banks of the Gualdalquivir River, with the struts securing the cranes needing to stay clear of the cables at all times.

To account for this box section struts were chosen and attached to two tower sections with an external frame and, during assembly of the two tower cranes, the lower ties were guided through the tensioned stay cables of the bridge structure. A mobile crane was on hand to assemble the 420 EC-H 16 Litronics to their final height, with the ties being installed first and then the slewing parts being mounted.

The inspection of the cables is part of a wider project to expand the traffic lanes on the carriageway, with the ten metal pylons making the bridge ready for the carriageway’s expansion.

Seville-based Sancho Toro, which also has a branch in Tenerife, has 280 Liebherr tower cranes in its fleet. The company specialises in the rental and sale of used cranes and is a capable partner for crane assembly, dismantling, maintenance and repairs.

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