Record breaking ABM bridge beams installed near Raith, Scotland

One of the largest mobile cranes in the UK, a 1,500tonne capacity unit, recently positioned nine 90tonne 42m pre-stressed bridge beams by ABM Precast Solutions. The massive W-beams were hoisted into place at Junction 5, the Raith Interchange, on Scotland’s M74 motorway – part of the M8-M73-M74 motorway improvements project.
September 30, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Up, up and away for ABM's W-beams

One of the largest mobile cranes in the UK, a 1,500tonne capacity unit, recently positioned nine 90tonne 42m pre-stressed bridge beams by 8508 ABM Precast Solutions.

The massive W-beams were hoisted into place at Junction 5, the Raith Interchange, on Scotland’s M74 motorway – part of the M8-M73-M74 motorway improvements project.

The Raith interchange is a noted pinch point in the Scottish motorway system, so installation took place in three night operations from midnight to four in the morning. The W-beams are among the largest bridge beams of this type fabricated in the UK in recent years. ABM are supplying precast structures to six other bridges on the £500 million project being delivered for Scottish Roads Partnership on behalf of Transport Scotland.

The beams were also the largest pre-stressed beams produced by ABM since a major upgrading of the company’s factory in the mid-England village of Tuxford.

Each W-beam was cast in purpose-built heated moulds ensuring rapid uniform curing to achieve the 50N/m2 stress load transfer strength. Each beam has more than a 1,700tonnes pre-stress load.

The loads were carried by Walker Haulage of Tuxford to the Scottish border - without escort.  Local police then escorted the steering bogie trailers to site to complete the near-420km journey.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

ABM

Related Content

  • Motorway madness
    September 24, 2019
    A cyclist was recently spotted on the UK’s busy M25 motorway pedalling along the hard shoulder in the wrong direction. Police were alerted by a CCTV operator who saw the rider as he rode past a camera. Officers quickly responded and escorted the cyclist to a place of safety after providing a few words on safety. Cycling is banned on the UK’s motorways.
    Read More
  • Bulgaria breaks ground for Martisa River bridge
    August 23, 2023
    The contract was awarded to local engineering firm GBS-Infrastructure Construction in Plovdiv, a subsidiary of the Bulgarian civil engineering group Glavbolgarstroy.
    Read More
  • Major Europe-Asia bridge connection in Turkey
    July 1, 2014
    The 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway will improve transport links between Europe and Asia and cut chronic congestion in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city - Mike Woof reports Work is now well underway on the 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway, providing a new link for Turkish city Istanbul and the region as a whole. This enormous bridge and highway project is breaking several records for Turkey in terms of scale, as well as setting a number of international records for e
    Read More
  • The UK’s Humber Bridge gets protected status
    July 28, 2017
    Any refurbishments to the Humber Bridge near the northern English city of Hull will be subject to intense scrutiny after being designated a historic site. The bridge - only 36-years old – was the longest single-span suspension bridge for 16 years until it was surpassed in 1998 with completion of Japan’s Akashi Kaikyō Bridge with a main span of 1.9km. The Humber Bridge now ranks eighth-longest as measured by its main span of 1.4km. Historic England, the listed structures designating authority, described the
    Read More

Highlighted Content