Huge steel sections supplied by Severfield’s Lostock factory for the Barking Riverside extension project

Loading Process

Logistically, this was a challenging task. As the overhead cranes at our Lostock facility have a lifting capacity of 100 tonnes, and the heaviest plate girder weighing a whopping 120 tonnes, the solution was for the Lostock team to fabricate each girder on temporary trestles. Once the sections were ready to leave the factory, self-propelled modular trailers (SPMTs), each with a maximum lifting capacity of 140 tonnes, were reversed under the temporary trestles and jacked up towards the steel beams to allow for safe loading.

On the Road

The movement from Lostock to Barking was no walk in the park either. We had to liaise with local councils and police to temporarily remove traffic lights and other street furniture that obstructed the movement – both near our factory near Bolton and also local to the delivery site at Barking. We worked with transport specialists Allelys Heavy Haulage Ltd for the 200-mile journey to deliver the plate girders, which set off at around 10:00am and arrived on site just before 6:00pm.

The Installation

Using the Sarens Gottwald 1,200-tonne mobile crane, we were able to lift the 120-tonne plate girders at a 65-metre radius, with a 71-metre main boom, and 350 tonnes of lift ballast.

Working alongside Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and VolkerFitzpatrick Ltd, we installed all four bridge sections safely and successfully and the cooperation between all the experts involved in the project played a huge part in accomplishing this task.