A ‘floating crane’ has been deployed for the construction of a 1.2km bridge in the Red Sea. The bridge will connect Saudi Arabia’s mainland with Shurayrah Island, which is being built as a luxury tourist destination by the Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC).
Marine engineering firm Archirodon contacted Mammoet to handle the transportation and installation of 60 pre-cast bridge-beam and edge-beam segments onto piers. The customer originally intended for SPMTs to install the bridge sections on a barge using SPMT’s suspension cylinders to lift and lower the pre-cast segments on the bridge bearings.
The Shurayrah Bridge will become one of the main access points for guests onto the island.
However, after further investigation, Mammoet’s engineering team presented an alternate installation approach, including the use of Mammoet’s mobile floating crane concept: an MTC 15 crane positioned on a barge, resulting in a 500t capacity containerised floating sheer leg with a 30m outreach. This installation method reduces installation time by half, allowing contractors to complete one piece each day rather than one in two days.
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