Skip to main content

Gilpin Demolition gets tough with A38 overpass in Devon, UK

December 19, 2014
There was no need for a day shift when Devon-based Gilpin Demolition took on a timely challenge - demolish an overpass bridge in 15 hours and reopen the A38 by the following morning.

The 40m long and 8m high single carriageway bridge, made of 1,400 tonnes of steel and concrete, was an overpass near Rattery. By 8PM the A38 below had been closed and the bridge carriageways were barricaded, ready for Gilpin’s first crew to arrive and lay down 400tonnes of stone road protection on the A38.

Hydraulic breakers then moved in for the real work to begin, as the video shows – there was no sleeping on this job.

As the sun rose over the A38 next morning, the last of the crew moved off site, after 960 man-hours of work that included six dumpers completing 80 trips. The job was 100% finished and the material was 100% recycled.

Related Content

  • Meeting the challenge of desert runway resurfacing
    April 13, 2012
    Ferocious daytime temperatures can provide a tough challenge to construction firms working in desert conditions in Egypt's south. Despite the high daytime temperatures however, Egyptian contractor Orascom has managed to complete an airport project on budget and ahead of schedule, while meeting the client's tight specifications. The firm has just completed the project to revamp Suhag Airport in the south of the country. This airport now features a new runway, taxiways and aircraft hard standing, as well as n
  • New EU-Russian highway connection
    February 18, 2013
    Among the forests and lakes of Finland, one of Europe's newest motorway links is being built as a Green highway linking Europe to Russia - Adrian Greeman reports The road eastwards from Finland's capital Helsinki, along the north coast of the Gulf of Finland, has not carried heavy traffic volumes, at least until recent times. Highway seven as it is designated locally, or E18 in European nomenclature, is partly motorway but in some sections still dual carriageway or even just a single lane each way, finishin
  • Rising to the challenge
    July 18, 2012
    Visualise today's concept of a major commercial traffic corridor in the western United States. A roadway responsible for delivering goods to Arizona, Nevada and Utah, that also connects Mexico to the United States to Canada through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). What springs to mind? A multi-lane highway carrying thousands of vehicles a day past cities at speeds up to 113km/hour, while egress ramps make sure vehicles get safely to city streets and their final destination. This is not the c
  • Crushing and screening for producing and re-using
    July 23, 2012
    The recycling and minerals extraction markets now share technologies, Mike Woof reports Not surprisingly, the Steinexpo quarrying event in Germany was a key launch venue for new crushing and screening technologies, as well as associated quarrying technology. Crushing and screening equipment firms from a wide range of European countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK were present at the exhibition. However it was noticeable how closely the miner