Skip to main content

Video captures nocturnal bridge demolition in Germany’s Ruhr area

November 17, 2014
It was a 24-hour job to demolish the bridge called On Leiterchen that crossed over the A43 in the industrial Ruhr area of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Traffic was stopped in both directions between junctions Recklinghausen-Hochlarmark and Recklinghause-Herten.

Before the serious work of nibbling away at the concrete structure could start, a 50cm layer of sand was spread across the entire motorway to protect the pavement from excavator machine tracks and falling concrete. The bridge eventually jack-knifed in on itself.

Equipment used included Cat 336D and E excavators, three Hitachi ZX350 and one ZX470 excavators and two Mercedes Benz Arocs dump trucks.

Related Content

  • An Italian job for Hitachi ZX350LCN-6 medium excavators
    May 1, 2018
    If you’re working in a tough quarry, you need machinery that doesn’t break down. That’s the opinion of Basalto La Spicca’s Quarry Manager Luca Dominici. A basalt quarry in southern Umbria, owned by Basalto La Spicca, demands the most durable equipment - in this case, two Hitachi ZX350LCN-6 medium excavators. These will eventually replace its older Zaxis-3 models, said quarry manager Luca Dominici. To enhance stability on the quarry floor, the new machines are equipped with double grouser shoes. They’re al
  • Indeco cuts up New York City’s old Kosciuszko Bridge
    November 23, 2017
    An Indeco ISS 45/90 is proving essential for demolishing the old Kosciuszko Bridge in New York City. New York City’s old 1.9km Kosciuszko Bridge, which crosses Newtown Creek connecting Green Point, Brooklyn with Maspeth, Queens, has been out of service since April. By the end of the year, the polygonal Warren through-truss structure will be no more. To replace the old bridge, in 2009, the New York State Department of Transportation planned the construction of two cable-stayed replacement bridges.
  • VIDEO: How many Caterpillars does it take to demolish a bridge in Canada?
    August 12, 2015
    At least nine, all in a row, according to a recent video shot in a town close to Montreal in the eastern province of Quebec.

    It was feeding time last month for a clutch of 178 Caterpillar’s hydraulic 350 and 336D excavators as they nibbled, pounded and munched their way through the redundant road bridge in Vaudreuil.

    The Avenue St-Charles overpass was surplus to requirements after a multi-million dollar interchange revamp was completed that included building a wider bridge next to the old one.
  • Bridge demolition with breakers
    May 5, 2021
    Hydraulic breakers from Italian firm Indeco have been used successfully to carry out important work on the Princes Freeway in Australia’s Victoria State.