VIDEO - Bridge demolition going wrong

June 17, 2015
A bridge demolition job went spectacularly wrong in Finland recently. Luckily for all concerned, there were no casualties, but it could have quite easily been a different story. A demolition contractor was using an excavator fitted with a hydraulic breaker to break up the structure, but the work was carrying on despite live traffic flowing on the road under the bridge.

Note too the behaviour of drivers on the route after the initial collapse.

This video came just as the European Demolition Association headed to Finland’s capital Helsinki to discuss best practice.

The Viitostiellä Mikkelissä bridge collapsed following a few blows from a hydraulic hammer to the deck, suggesting the structure was in a very poor condition indeed.

Related Content

  • Barrier innovation putting traffic safety and flow first
    April 3, 2014
    Cutting-edge barriers offering greater safety at the same time as limiting traffic disruption are proving in demand on busy world highways, as Guy Woodford reports Small footprint; minimum disruption after impact; lower labour costs; all said to be elements contributing to the growing popularity of the Trend terminal from Trinity Highway Products. This family of end terminals offers a range of safe and efficient solutions to barrier ends with quick and easy assembly and installation. Trinity claims th
    Read More
  • VIDEO - Canadian contractor demolishing overpass
    July 13, 2015
    Canadian contractor Delsan has carried out a successful demolition of an overpass in Quebec. The firm used a number of John Deere excavators equipped with breakers and cutters to break up the overpass in a controlled demolition job. The structure was located in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue and needed to be removed as it had been made redundant.
    Read More
  • Breaking at the face
    July 16, 2012
    Italian customer Marocca Group is using an Indeco HP18000 hydraulic breaker (the heaviest hydraulic breaker on the market at present) for primary demolition at a limestone quarry in Anagni, close to capital Rome. The 40ha quarry produces high grade limestone in 21 different sizes to meet an array of construction needs, and the bespoke fully automated crushing and screening plant is able to process over 500m³/hour of rock. By using the HP18000 in a primary winning application, Marocca Group has also been abl
    Read More
  • Booming Chinese aggregate demand
    February 22, 2013
    Global demand for construction aggregates is set to increase 5.2% a year until 2015 to 48.3 billion tonnes, according to research by The Freedonia Group in the United States. The same source tips China alone to account for half of all new aggregate demand worldwide in the period 2010-2015. Guy Woodford reports on the growing importance of the Asian aggregates market. China is already the biggest nation for aggregate production and use in the world, and the competition among the giants of aggregate productio
    Read More

Highlighted Content