VIDEO – demolition of UK’s M1 motorway overpass

April 17, 2015
Specialist contractor Armac recently demolished a bridge over the UK’s busy M1 motorway. The work was carried out within a tight timeframe as this important route could only be closed for a short period at night over a weekend when traffic would be at its lightest so as to minimise disruption.

Equipment was used initially to prepare the site, so as to reduce the risk to the surrounding area. Blast curtains were set in place so as to minimise the spread of debris, before the charges were activated. With the bridge then demolished by the blast, a fleet of excavators with demolition attachments was then brought in to cut up the wreckage and reduce the rubble to a manageable size, allowing it to be transported away.

Video footage has finally emerged of Armac’s spectacular bridge implosion over the M1 motorway which took place a few weeks back.

This silent movie from the 2309 Highways Agency uses time-lapse to capture the preparation and the blast before the work really starts with around with something like 10 excavators cutting up and processing the fallen bridge deck.

The “Bridge Busters” then deploy a veritable fleet of equipment to clear the site in readiness for the reopening of Junction 19.

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