PROJECT DETAILS

/ CONTEXT HBT AIM has entered into a subcontracting agreement with Pomerleau Inc. for the lifting of a multi-span steel bridge linked to the construction of a new highway in the Niagara Falls area.

/ DISMANTLEMENT Dismantling occurred over a major highway corridor (Hwy-406) with six (6) lanes and an important sea canal.

/ CHALLENGE  Prior to the dismantling, the construction of a new bridge had to be partially completed to allow the Burgoyne bridge to be closed and the traffic to be transferred to the new structure.

/ ENGINEERING Due to the proximity of the new structure, the dismantling engineering plans have been developed to allow the lifting of the bridge spans one by one from the ground adjacent to the structure. The spans, each weighing more than 130 tons, were lifted and placed on the ground by a crawler crane with a nominal capacity of 440 tons.

/ EQUIPMENT The section above the highway was dismantled during a full three-day (one-week) closing of traffic lanes. Two telescopic mobile cranes with a capacity of 600 tons each were used in addition to the hydraulic cylinders which ensured the stability of the structure during the tandem operation of the cranes.

/ SAFETY FIRST  All the work was carried out without any incident or breakage of equipment despite the complexity and the high risk level of the project. Most of the work was located close to civilian infrastructure and residences.Noise and silica dust control represented the most important constraint of the project.