Two damaged bridge beams forming part of the bridge deck of Chievely Bridge at junction 13 of the M4 that carries the motorway over the A34 needed to be replaced during a night time position that would see both the M4 and A34 being closed.
Jackson Civil Engineering called on PCE Ltd’s expertise to ensure that the complex erection of the four new replacement I section Steel beams, with concrete encased lower flanges each 6.0m long and weighing 4.1 tonnes, would be safely carried out in the restricted time available.
Originally conceived by the Main Contractor as a one crane four lift project, but requiring a back up crane should there be a crane breakdown, the proposal put forward by PCE was to use both LTM1150 150 tonnes lift capacity cranes and two separate lift crews with the cranes standing on the A34 placed either side of the Chieveley Bridge structure.
This gave a significant time saving to the operation enabling following trade contractor’s greater flexibility in completing their works.
The work was carried out successfully during one night, with PCE’s meticulous pre-planning and onsite team expertise once again giving certainty to the Main Contractor that the bridge beam replacement operation would be a success.
