e-mosty September 2018 Vessels and Equipment Used for Bridge Construction | Page 19

Second Strelasund Bridge, Germany
During 2006, the 1,200-ton SWL floating sheerleg ‘Taklift
7’ of Smit Transport & Heavy Lift spent several months at
the German Baltic coast near Stralsund for the
construction of the Strelasund Bridge.
The bridge links the mainland with the island of Rügen,
belonging to the state of Mecklenburg-Western
Pomerania.
The sheerleg lifted a total of 13 tower sections and 16
bridge sections, with maximum weights of approximately
800 tonne.
The lifting programme was completed successfully
despite heavy ice and prolonged periods of poor
weather.
↖ Figure 35: ´Taklift 7´
during installation of
a bridge section
Construction of the highest section of the Strelasund
Bridge involved lifting and positioning the top unit of a
128m high tower, with a weight of 84 tonnes. For this lift,
the ‘Taklift 7’ employed its 175 m long boom.
↗ Figure 36: ´Taklift 7´
during installation of
a tower
The Second Strelasund Bridge is a single tower cable
stayed bridge that has approach spans supported by
nineteen piers.
← Figure 37: ´Taklift 7´
during installation of a
bridge section
The Strelasund Link route is 4.1 kilometres long and
includes 2,831 metres of new bridges.
Vasco da Gama Bridge, Portugal
The theme of the 1998 Lisbon World Expo’ was ‘The
Oceans: a Heritage for the Future’. In 1998 it was the
500th anniversary of the discovery of the sea route from
Europe to India in 1498 by Vasco da Gama, the famous
Portuguese explorer.
Especially for this event, a combination of access roads,
viaducts and a main span with a total length of 12,345
metres was built over the Tagus River, connecting Lisbon
with the Expo ’98 exhibition grounds including pavilions
of 141 countries and 14 international organisations.
To obtain the contract for the heavy lifts on the bridge
over the Tagus River, a joint venture of the Belgian
company Scaldis Salvage and Marine Contractors and
Dutch heavy lift specialist Van Seumeren Holland was
formed and the heavy lift vessel ‘Rambiz’ was developed.
3/2018
The vessel was needed to carry out the following
lifts:

Lifting and positioning of a total of 150
girders, each 80-m x 16-m and weighing up
to 2,200-ton each.
Each 80-m span consists of two girders
placed side-by-side to create a bridge deck
of 34-m width (including a 2-m central
reservation).
 Positioning of 8 'hammerhead' pier top
sections weighing 1200-ton each.
 To perform a variety of other heavy lifts
(including eight 200-ton backspan units).