5,700 tonne bridge installation

Chinese contractor China State Construction Engineering commissioned international heavy lift and transportation specialist Mammoet to assist with the construction of a bridge at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). The 200 metre pedestrian bridge will connect HKIA’s Terminal 1 with the airport’s North Satellite Concourse and is high enough to allow large passenger jets to pass underneath.

Mammoet’s involvement comprised first transporting the bridge 3.5 km across the airport’s taxiway. According to Mammoet, the bridge weighed approximately 5,700 tonnes and the transportation had to be conducted within a time frame of five hours to minimise disruption to HKIA’s schedules. For this part of the operation, Mammoet used 264 axle lines of SPMT.

The bridge was then temporarily set down before Mammoet used its Mega Jack 5200 system installed on SPMT to lift the bridge into position, at a height of 14.3 metres. In fact, the bridge was lifted above this height in order to be lowered onto supporting piers. This was the first time the Mega Jack 5200 had been used on SPMT, said Mammoet.

When the bridge was in position, China State Construction Engineering carried out welding work during which time Mammoet continued to monitor the Mega Jack’s hydraulics.

In total it took seven days to complete all the necessary work, said Mammoet.

Charles Tse, China State Construction Engineering Corp., said, “We are pleased with the work done by the Mammoet team. The project was completed on schedule with minimal disruption to the HKIA’s daily activities and this was especially important close to the Lunar New Year period, when we expect an increase in traffic flow at this airport hub.”