Skip to main content

Refurbishing Heathrow road tunnel

A Positioner-Actuator-Manipulator (PAM)machine on hire from UK dealer STM of Tring has been able to cut concrete removal time for Bam Nuttall on its €116.2 million tunnel refurbishment contract at Heathrow Airport. The 18-month contract involves major work on the main and cargo tunnels serving Terminals 1, 2 and 3 in order to comply with the latest European standards and also to extend the life of the tunnels for a further 60 years. As part of the project, some 206m2 of concrete repairs were needed to be
December 11, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The Canadian built PAM unit was used for the Heathrow Tunnel refurbishment
A Positioner-Actuator-Manipulator (PAM)machine on hire from UK dealer STM of Tring has been able to cut concrete removal time for 3137 Bam Nuttall on its €116.2 million tunnel refurbishment contract at Heathrow Airport. The 18-month contract involves major work on the main and cargo tunnels serving Terminals 1, 2 and 3 in order to comply with the latest European standards and also to extend the life of the tunnels for a further 60 years.

As part of the project, some 206m2 of concrete repairs were needed to be carried out. Bam Nuttall opted to use the Canadian built PAM unit, which allowed work to continue throughout the 10.30 pm to 5.30 am possession time. The breaker is firmly secured to an air-over-hydraulic powered two-piece arm, which isolates vibration from the PAM's controls. The unit is mounted on four castors or removable road wheels and can be pushed into position prior to applying the brake and deploying outrigger legs for stability during operation. Weighing only 525kg without a tool in place, the machine can be easily transported in a conventional van.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Tyne tunnel's water quality checks
    February 6, 2012
    Five buoy-mounted automatic water quality monitors (AWQMs) have been installed by YSI Hydrodata engineers at the new Tyne Tunnel project in north-east England. The equipment on the second vehicle tunnel under the River Tyne, currently one of the UK's largest construction projects, aims to ensure that construction operations do not significantly affect river water quality. Unusually, the contractors have not taken ownership of the instrumentation, preferring instead to simply purchase the data and alarms. Th
  • Challenging bridge demolition
    March 2, 2012
    DEMOLITION and blasting experts Philipp Halter of Berlin, Germany, faced a challenging job: in just 48 hours it had to demolish the southern section of the Spandau Dam Bridge crossing the A 100. The efficient interaction of Atlas Copco hydraulic breakers and hydraulic CombiCutters, mounted on seven Volvo excavators, is said to have played a crucial role after following a carefully planned schedule. During Friday night a bed of sand was placed under the bridge to allow the girders and reinforcements torn dow
  • Road repairs fuel demand for milling machines
    February 13, 2012
    A need for road repairs is fuelling demand for new milling machines, Mike Woof reports. With many roads in Europe and North America needing repairs, manufacturers continue to meet demand by offering improved compact milling machines, as well as full-sized planers. The versatile and manoeuvrable compact machines can play a useful role in on-site recycling jobs for urban road improvements while the larger mills can be vital for in-situ recycling work.
  • Rammer’s tough breakers for tunnelling
    March 31, 2016
    Based on customer demand for new, extreme duty hydraulic breakers, Rammer is launching two new PRO hammers. The Rammer 2577 PRO and Rammer 5011 PRO are said to be innovative and tough.