Flyover replacement

French contractor DSD Démolition was one of three firms that worked on the recent demolition of the A55 highway flyover in Marseilles, France. The 20-year-old flyover stood near the harbour and formed part of a main route through Marseille leading to Lyon and Avignon. However, it was an ugly structure and spoiled the city's landscape so as part of the wider regeneration taking part in Marseille's harbour, the 1.3km bridge had to be demolished within three months. DSD Démolition had two operators for each of
February 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
French contractor DSD Démolition was one of three firms that worked on the recent demolition of the A55 highway flyover in Marseilles, France. The 20-year-old flyover stood near the harbour and formed part of a main route through Marseille leading to Lyon and Avignon. However, it was an ugly structure and spoiled the city's landscape so as part of the wider regeneration taking part in Marseille's harbour, the 1.3km bridge had to be demolished within three months. DSD Démolition had two operators for each of its machines and worked around the clock to complete the project on time. Demolition work was carried out at night by a total of eight machines, when the nearby road was closed, and rubble was cleared away during the day by six machines.
DSD Démolition used four 233 Hitachi excavators on the site. The bridge was demolished by a ZX470LCH-3 and ZX250LCN-3, which were both fitted with hydraulic hammer attachments, protective guards and lights to work through the night. The ZX470LCH-3 was equipped with a quick coupler to change between a standard and 26m high-reach boom. A ZX350LCN-3 fitted with a rotating concrete breaker attachment was used for crushing large concrete blocks into smaller pieces and clearing the site. An older ZX350LC with shears was used to cut concrete and steel bars.
Now the bridge has been demolished, work can start on the construction of a 1.2km tunnel beneath the road where it once stood. This will connect to an existing tunnel that runs beneath the old harbour.
Earthmoving & soil compaction

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Indeco adds demolition sorting grab range
    January 6, 2017
    Indeco has added a full range of demolition sorting grabs to its product line-up. The company started out in 1976 making breakers and has continued to add new types of attachment as operators increasingly look to use specific equipment for each application to cut times and costs. “Hammers still represent our core business but dealers have been asking for a wider range of Indeco demolition attachments to serve customers,” said commercial director Michele Vitulano, who is the son of the company’s founder.
    Read More
  • Indeco adds demolition sorting grab range
    April 17, 2012
    Indeco has added a full range of demolition sorting grabs to its product line-up. The company started out in 1976 making breakers and has continued to add new types of attachment as operators increasingly look to use specific equipment for each application to cut times and costs. “Hammers still represent our core business but dealers have been asking for a wider range of Indeco demolition attachments to serve customers,” said commercial director Michele Vitulano, who is the son of the company’s founder.
    Read More
  • Hitachi’s latest demolition range
    April 7, 2025

    A joint venture between Hitachi and Kiesel Technology builds special application machines for demolition. The machines are made in Germany by KTEG and these include the KTEG 390HR, which is based on a Hitachi ZX350, and equipped with an extendable undercarriage, additional counterweight and tiltable demolition cab. The fixed mounted 23m high-reach boom allows an attachment weight of 3.5tonnes.

    Read More
  • More on the Newmarket Viaduct replacement
    June 15, 2012
    When it was completed in 1965 – just six years after the Auckland Harbour Bridge – the six-lane Newmarket Viaduct with its tall, slender piers was something of an engineering wonder, the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Forty years on it had become a much-maligned contributor to Auckland’s chronic traffic congestion, too weak seismically to withstand the heaviest loaded trucks let alone a severe earthquake, so narrow in the shoulders that any accident stopped traffic flow and made it difficult
    Read More

Highlighted Content