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| Potain tower cranes help build record breaking bridge  Two Potain tower cranes are working on the construction of what will be the world's longest cable-stayed bridge. The Russky Island Bridge will link Patrokl Bay in the city of Vladivostok with Russky Island. A Potain MD 1100 special application tower crane and a Potain MDT 368 tower crane are working on one of the bridge's pylons. Main contractor on the project is OAO USK-Most, and the bridge's designer and sub-contractor on the Nazimov side of the bridge is OOO NPO Mostovik. Mostovik is using the Potain tower cranes that they purchased directly from Manitowoc.Vladimir Romanov, lead engineer in the Bosfor industrial engineering team at Mostovik, said the company chose the two Potain cranes because they work well together. "We chose to pair these two tower cranes because the topless MDT 368 can sit close underneath the MD 1100," he said. "This allows more lifting work to take place in a smaller space. Also, both cranes have excellent lifting speeds, which is important because the construction time for this bridge is only 43 months. We also really like the cabs on the cranes — they are comfortable and give the operators great visibility." The Potain tower cranes are working on pylon M6 on the bridge, which will reach a height of 320 m. Both the 50 t capacity MD 1100 and the 16 t capacity MDT 368 are working on 4 m x 4 m masts, with fixing anchors attached to the pylon. The MD 1100 started on the project at a freestanding height of 81 m and the MDT 368 at a height of 74 m. The final working height for the MD 1100 will be 335 m, and the final working height for the MDT 368 will be 323 m. Jib for the MD 1100 is 60 m while jib for the MDT 368 is 40 m. The cranes are lifting a variety of components and construction materials, including steel reinforcement, formwork (weighing up to 7 t), steel elements to connect the pylon legs (weighing up to 30 t) and temporary bracing beams (weighing up to 15 t). The MD 1100 will handle the most challenging lifts on the project, placing metallic blocks, weighing up to 22 t, for the connection of cable stays at the top of the pylon. The MD 1100 will lift these blocks when it is at its final working height. The lift radius will be 36 m. Work on the project is demanding. If the project remains on schedule, it could hold the world record for the shortest construction time of a cable-stayed bridge (43 months). Part of the reason for the strict construction timetable is that the bridge must open in time for the 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. The APEC Summit in Vladivostok will welcome national leaders from the 21 member countries. Having started construction in September 2008, the project is scheduled to finish in March 2012. Once the summit is over, the bridge will also serve as access for a major new university, the Far East Federal University, being constructed on Russky Island. Mostovik is building an oceanarium for part of the island's new developments which, once completed, will be one of the world's largest. When Russky Island Bridge is complete, it will replace Sutong Bridge in China as the world's longest cable stay bridge. Sutong Bridge opened in 2008 and was built with two Potain MD 3600 cranes, the largest tower cranes ever built by Manitowoc. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Construction News :: home page |