Marr installs two heavy lift luffers

Australia-based heavy lift tower crane specialist Marr Contracting (The Men from Marr’s) has installed two M2480D heavy lift luffing tower cranes on a new project in Sydney.

Marr was awarded the heavy lift contract for construction of the new Sydney Metro Crows Nest Station. Construction partner AW Edwards awarded Marr the job after working with Sydney Metro during the front-end design of the project.

Previous experience for Marr includes delivering crane solutions for other Sydney Metro projects, for example, the Sydney Yard Access Bridge (SYAB) and station redevelopment at Central Station, and new station developments at Martin Place and Barangaroo. The goal for this project was to align the craneage methodology with the precast and modular construction methodology driven by Sydney Metro’s overall project delivery schedule, Marr said.

Using two of Marr’s 330 tonne capacity M2480Ds addresses the challenge of how to provide the heavy lifting capacity the project needs within the small space of the station box construction site, said Marr. The solution also addresses other logistical challenges on the project, including handling large precast elements weighing up to 100 tonnes, while working adjacent to one of Sydney’s busiest arterial roadways.

Simon Marr said, “The challenges associated with this project are largely to do with its location and where its construction schedule sits within the greater Sydney Metro project. Being able to work closely with the Sydney Metro team and have access to their engineering team during the design works was essential to developing a solution that took buildability, time and safety into consideration.

“The process took 18 months to complete, resulting in Sydney Metro issuing a considered and evaluated design for the Crows Nest Station construction tenderers, with a suitable craneage solution built into it. This meant that the project could transfer easily from contract award to construction in a short time frame,” Marr continued.

Construction on the A$370 million (US$ 286 million) Sydney Metro Crows Nest station project commenced in January 2021. Metro services are expected to be operational by 2024, with Marr’s scope of work at Crows Nest complete in 2022.