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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.

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