How a Liebherr crane helped after severe flooding

The Bielefeld branch of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) has hoisted a 46 tonne temporary prefabricated bridge over the River Erft, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, using a Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1.

The new structure is to replace a bridge that was destroyed and washed away by severe flooding in summer 2021

The bridge weighed 46 tonnes and measured 22 metres long and 7 metres wide. THW contracted Cologne crane and heavy haulage contractor Wasel to complete the work.

The crane was set up with 135 tonnes of ballast with a ballast radius of 8.4 metres. The radius for hoisting the bridge into position, which weighed 50 tonnes, including the hook and fastening equipment, was 27 metres.

The new bridge is installed to replace a bridge that was destroyed and washed away by severe flooding in summer 2021. It will allow car drivers and pedestrians in the South West of the district capital to once again cross the river.

The bridge can withstand 30 tonnes of vehicles

The temporary bridge has sufficient capacity to carry vehicles weighing up to 30 tonnes.

Julian Schmidt, technical director at Wasel, said, “The restoration work in the affected areas is proceeding at full speed and we are delighted that we can provide some assistance in these situations. People are doing such good work to get a little bit of normality back to the affected areas as quickly as possible.”

Mayor Sascha Reichelt describes the temporary bridge as a major signal for the people of Euskirchen that life goes on.

It will remain in place for around one year until the brand new Erft bridge is ready for installation.