Road widening means bridge demolition

Two heavy Atlas Copco hydraulic breakers have been used to demolish a bridge on the A40 autobahn at Junction 28 in Gelsenkirchen-Süd, Germany. The bridge was used to carry the four lanes of the A40 over the B277 main road. As the key route in the Ruhr district, the A40 is being widened to incorporate six lanes, so the old bridge needed to be demolished.
February 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Two heavy 161 Atlas Copco hydraulic breakers have been used to demolish a bridge on the A40 autobahn at Junction 28 in Gelsenkirchen-Süd, Germany. The bridge was used to carry the four lanes of the A40 over the B277 main road. As the key route in the Ruhr district, the A40 is being widened to incorporate six lanes, so the old bridge needed to be demolished.

Viersen-based Prangenberg & Zaum had only two days to complete the demolition, commissioned by 945 Strabag. The contractor has a number of Atlas Copco breakers in its fleet and opted to use heavy-duty hammers from the firm for the demolition work, a 7tonne HB7000, a 5.8tonne HB5800 and a 2.5tonne HB2500. Using these tools the solid reinforced concrete bridge and bridge heads were removed in about 32 hours. A pulveriser crushed the demolition waste while it was still on site and the waste was then transferred to Prangenberg & Zaum's recycling station for further processing. The total volume of the demolition project was 2,300m3 of concrete with steel reinforcement and the breakers performed reliably while carrying out the work.

The A40 runs from Straelen on the Dutch border, over the Rhine and across the Ruhr region to Dortmund and is the main arterial road in the Ruhr. Around 120,000 vehicles/day travel around the city of Bochum at peak times, meaning the A40 carries the heaviest traffic in the Ruhr region.

Work on gradually widening the motorway to six lanes was begun in 2010 and should be completed in 2012.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Germany builds its first major PPI autobahn project
    July 7, 2015
    Rebuilding of one of the oldest motorways in Germany is testing out the possibilities for public-private project road construction reports Adrian Greeman A freshly renovated section of the A8 Autobahn in southern Germany will be watched with some interest this summer as traffic begins driving along its rebuilt carriageway and additional third lanes. That is not because of any special road features, other than a distinctive reddish colour to its concrete surface, but because it is a first fullscale public
    Read More
  • Atlas Copco´s hydraulic attachment tools division becomes part of Epiroc
    February 27, 2018
    From 1 January 2018, the Hydraulic Attachment Tools division within Atlas Copco became part of Epiroc, the company that Atlas Copco plans to dividend out in mid-2018. From that date, all the division's current products will be delivered with Epiroc product branding. The division manufactures excavator attachment tools, such as hydraulic breakers, cutters, pulverisers, bucket crushers, shears, grapples and magnets. The company says that the hydraulic breaker was originally developed in 1963 by the German
    Read More
  • Auckland Harbour bridge celebrates 50 years
    April 5, 2012
    The bridge over Auckland Harbour celebrates its half century this year, and it has been given a major upgrade to ensure that safety is maintained in New Zealand's largest city. Mary Searle reports. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, home to nearly a third of the entire country's population. It's a sprawling metropolis, and its 1.3 million people are spread over 637km² of city, suburbs and islands. The Auckland Harbour Bridge, which celebrates its 50th birthday in May, is a vital link in the city's road
    Read More
  • Auckland Harbour bridge celebrates 50 years
    February 22, 2012
    The bridge over Auckland Harbour celebrates its half century this year, and it has been given a major upgrade to ensure that safety is maintained in New Zealand's largest city. Mary Searle reports. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, home to nearly a third of the entire country's population. It's a sprawling metropolis, and its 1.3 million people are spread over 637km² of city, suburbs and islands. The Auckland Harbour Bridge, which celebrates its 50th birthday in May, is a vital link in the city's road
    Read More

Highlighted Content