Case Studies

Universal Cranes was engaged by Fulton Hogan Seymour Whyte Joint Venture (FHSWJV) for the transportation and installation of 58 girders for Bridge 11 and 12 on the CR2SM (Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway) Project. FHSWJV won the design and construction of the CR2SM based on an innovative design solution that transforms the Caloundra Road interchange into a Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), the first to be built in Australia.

Managing the site location was a challenge on this project, as site access was restricted due to the live traffic on the Bruce Highway. This meant careful management of the mobilisation and demobilisation of a 400t Crawler Crane, as well as critical time management for the scheduled girder transportation process.

The core scope of work for our Manitowoc M16000 was the unloading and installation of the girders over two DDI bridges – a new record for the longest pre-stressed girders ever placed in Queensland. Rigorous planning and methodology development was undertaken in conjunction with FHSWJV, including concept design, lift planning and developing lift studies throughout the project. The sweeping arc design of the bridge presented unique challenges in regard to lifting and placing the bridge girders.

The M16000 provided FHSWJV an efficient and smart crane solution, in its ability to be set and configured such that the crane could complete all the required lifts with only tracking required between each lift location. Four out of the six lift locations could be quickly and easily tracked to by the M16000 within 1.5 hours and required only one initial mobilisation and one demobilisation. This included walking the 400t crane over the nationally important Bruce Highway without so much as a scratch to the pavement!

The boom configuration used was a 42m main boom with 24m luffing jib, 30.5m back mast, 151t of upper counterweight and 54t car body counterweight with no MAX-ER wagon and ballast. We also mobilised our 110t Rough Terrain Grove RT9130E crane to keep all support equipment in-house during the mobilisation of the M16000.

For the transportation scope of work, we utilised a combination of our own transport equipment including two 4x rows of 8 jinker trailers and two 2x rows of 8 dolly assemblies together with a subcontractor’s transportation equipment.

The delivery schedule was absolutely critical to ensure the required number of spans were installed during each night shift before work had to stop in the morning due to traffic restrictions. Universal Cranes had a target of five girders per night. We achieved up to seven girders per night on the spans with smaller units. Providing a comprehensive transport and crane hire package gave Universal Cranes control over the girder delivery schedule, so we were able to make back time on the  schedule when two shifts were cancelled due to inclement weather. Despite unforeseen schedule changes on the project, Universal Cranes completed the lift incident free and ahead of schedule.

“The Universal Cranes team have provided exceptional planning, support and execution for the DDI bridges, which are the focal point of the CR2SM Project. The team onsite consistently displayed a high level of professionalism while completing the required lifts safely and ahead of program. The team effectively managed a number of constraints including the site location…Universal Cranes have consistently provided, and continue to provide an excellent level of service to CR2SM… They are held in high regard on the project.”

Darren Andrew, Area Manager – Structures, CR2SM

The CR2SM (Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway) Project involves upgrading the Bruce Highway to six lanes between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway on the Sunshine Coast. The upgrade is needed to deliver critical safety benefits to motorists, improve efficiency and reduce traffic congestion, and ensure the highway can meet the strategic transport needs of the Sunshine Coast region well into the future. Since the completion of the girder installation, Universal Cranes has provided All Terrain crane and heavy lift support to FHSWJV for continued works of the CR2SM Project.

Key Equipment Utilised:

• Manitowoc M16000
• Grove RT9130E

Check out the MANITOWOC M16000’s capabilities here, or give us a call to learn more about how Universal Cranes can help with your project.