Skip to main content

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.

The hungry little critters reportedly took only several hours to complete the night-time task.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Work zone safety solution on busy world highways
    December 3, 2013
    Globally renowned highway work zone safety solution manufacturers have been providing some of their latest systems to protect roadworkers and motorists on high volume traffic highways. Guy Woodford reports Versilis has provided one of its state-of-the-art work zone safety solutions during the rehabilitation of North America’s busiest highway. The Canadian road safety product innovator and manufacturer was retained by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) to install automated traffic control
  • Caterpillar’s broad range for China
    November 21, 2018
    Caterpillar is offering a broad range of new machines in China. The company has an array of new general construction, road construction and SEM-branded equipment. The company has 11 hydraulic excavator models, featuring both wheeled and tracked undercarriages. These range from the 313D2, with a maximum operating weight of 14.6tonnes, to the 390F L with its maximum operating weight of 96.275tonnes. Seven of the excavators, the 330, 330 GC, 336, 336 GC, 345 GC, 320 and 323, are Cat Next Generation models,
  • 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.
  • Massey Tunnel project to be Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain
    January 25, 2016
    The provincial British Columbia government in western Canada has chosen a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) procurement model for the Vancouver region’s 10-lane bridge replacement for the ageing Massey Tunnel. The US$2.5 billion project includes a bridge and related Highway 99 improvements between Bridgeport Road in the adjacent city of Richmond and Highway 91 in the city of Delta. The 60-year-old tunnel now carries its limit of 80,000 vehicles a day and is often congested during rush hours.