DENMARK: Nordic Crane Heavy Lift has used an Enerpac JS-250 jack-up system to install the lifting section of the expanded King Frederik IX bridge across the Guldborgsund between the islands of Lolland and Falster on the route the future the Fehmarn Belt fixed link tunnel to Germany.
The existing 295 m long bridge carries a road and single track railway, and the additional rail bridge which is being built alongside it by MT Højgaard Danmark will increase capacity on the route ahead of the opening of the fixed link. Swietelsky Rail Scandinavia will undertake track works for the bridge.
The bridge will have 13 concrete sections and a 20 m long steel lifting section to enable ships to pass. The 120 tonne lifting section was built off-site and transported by barge along with the Enerpac JS-250 jack-up. The JS-250 resting on the barge deck was raised by 5 m in preparation for final installation, with the bridge section lowered on to the support pillars with the final height adjustments made using the jack-up’s adjustable top-barrel. It was positioned within 10 mm precision.
The Enerpac JS-Series multi-point lifting system comprises four jack-up towers, one positioned under each corner of the load. The lifting frame of each jack-up tower contains four hydraulic cylinders, which lift and stack steel barrels. The load is lifted in increments as barrels are inserted via an automated system and stacked, forming the lifting towers. Managed by a single operator, each tower’s lifting and lowering operations occur simultaneously, while the jack-up’s synchronous technology maintains the balance of the load.
‘The Enerpac JS-250 was very stable on the barge, allowing us to accurately position the flap’, said Paul Karlsen, COO Heavy Lift at Nordic Crane. ‘The compactness of the JS-250 jack-up meant we were able to easily accommodate it on the barge together with the bridge flap.’
