New steel bridge in place in ratoath road realignment

BAM Group Ireland has successfully lifted in a new structural steel bridge for Iarnród Éireann over the Dublin to Sligo railway line and the Royal Canal between Cabra and Finglas as part of the Ratoath Road Realignment and Over-bridge Project.

The bridge weighed 320 tonnes and was raised into place with a 1,200 tonne capacity Gottwald AK912 strut jib crane, one of the largest cranes mobilised in Ireland for such an operation. 45 trucks transported the crane parts from Belgium and a team of six erected the crane over five days.

BAM's bridge installation crew, which included 20 operatives and engineering staff, managed the complex operation safely and effectively, while a crowd of over 100 locals gathered at the canal bridge crossing at 1am to witness the historic bridge installation.

The truss arch bridge was engineered using tubular sections for the arches and beams sections to support the deck and was assembled off-line locally before installation. It has a total length of 70m and is 15m in width and spans the whole of the busy Dublin to Maynooth-Sligo Railway line, the Royal Canal and the canal towpath. When complete, it will accommodate the realigned Ratoath Road between Cabra and Ballyboggan Road in Finglas, enabling the closure of the manned level crossing over the railway line at Reilly’s canal bridge and providing relief to peak traffic queues either side of the bridge.

The project is due to be completed in early 2015.