Skip to main content

Atlas Copco for Brazil bridge demolition

Brazilian demolition specialist Comprex was chosen to demolish a bridge connecting districts in the city of Vitória in the state of Espirito Santo. For environmental reasons, debris was not permitted to fall into the waterway under the bridge, and special arrangements had to be made for the removal of the demolition waste. Comprex chose Atlas Copco hydraulic breakers and CombiCutters for the jobsite where three new bridges have been built over the old bridge, which was no longer able to support the increasi
July 2, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Bridge demolition under way in the city of Vitória, Brazil
Brazilian demolition specialist Comprex was chosen to demolish a bridge connecting districts in the city of Vitória in the state of Espirito Santo.

For environmental reasons, debris was not permitted to fall into the waterway under the bridge, and special arrangements had to be made for the removal of the demolition waste.

Comprex chose 161 Atlas Copco hydraulic breakers and CombiCutters for the jobsite where three new bridges have been built over the old bridge, which was no longer able to support the increasing volume of traffic crossing between the city districts. The old bridge, comprising 1,300m3 of reinforced concrete, needed to be removed, and an Atlas Copco SB 452 hydraulic breaker was used to remove the light structures, such as the parapet and concrete surfacing.

Two Atlas Copco MB 1700 hydraulic breakers and two CC 1700 CombiCutters, mounted on 2394 Volvo EC 210 and Cat 416E carriers, were used for the heavier task of removing the concrete layer from the beams and finally the ten beams themselves.

Demolition debris was received in a special boat and transported to a recycling plant.

“The MB 1700 and SB 452 hydraulic breakers gave impressive performance on the very hard concrete,” said Ronaldo Zucchi, owner of Comprex.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The Lessons of the Genoa bridge collapse
    April 23, 2019
    The partial collapse of the Polcevera viaduct, better known as the Morandi Bridge, has prompted debate regarding the technical and administrative aspects of maintaining road infrastructures. We discussed it with the engineer Gabriele Camomilla, former Director of Research and Maintenance of the Società Autostrade, who coordinated the only major structural intervention performed on the bridge, carried out in the early 1990s
  • Runway resurfacing in Sardinia with Wirtgen machines
    December 7, 2017
    The fleet used comprised two Wirtgen W 210s and one W 200i, as well as two Wirtgen WR 2000 soil stabilisers. Located roughly 8 km north-west of the city of Alghero, Alghero-Fertilia Airport is one of three commercial airports on the Italian island, along with Cagliari Elmas and Olbia. Built as a military airport in the late 1930s, Alghero-Fertilia still occasionally handles military aircraft. However commercial flights represent its main traffic and as it serves the provinces of Sassari and Oristano, it is
  • Brisbane’s new airport link is an engineering success
    April 12, 2013
    Financial troubles for Brisbane's new Airport Link overshadow its construction success – Adrian Greeman writes. Political argument and legal dispute is likely to rage for some time yet over the bankruptcy of Australian road operator BrisConnect, which went into receivership this February with A$3 billion in debt. Toll paying users for its new Airport Link have been less than half the predicted numbers since it opened in July last summer. But if its nancial engineering is being questioned, the same is not t
  • Golden route to success
    July 20, 2012
    Built in 1937 and still the ninth longest suspension bridge in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay remains in fine shape despite its age - Andrew Bardin Williams writes The Golden Gate Bridge turned 75 years old on May 27 and continues to play a key role in the transportation, engineering, construction and ITS communities. The structure has played an important historical role, an engineering success that boosted the economy of the region. And it also led the way as the first major pub