Crimea Bridge railway arch lifted to the projected height

A 227-meter-long railway arch of the Kerch Strait Bridge has been lifted to the required projected height of 35 meters and installed on fairway piers, the Crimean Bridge press office reported.

The railway arch weighing more than 6,000 tonnes was raised by heavy lift equipment under the supervision of the leading engineers of the project. The lifting operation to the design height took about 12 hours. During the day, the arch will be secured.

Mikhail Piksaev, Deputy Director of Operations of MostoOtryad-1, the transport and lifting operation was carried out safely and on schedule.

The bridge arch lifting on 700 cables was executed by powerful jacks fixed on the supports. The installation operation required 16 heavy lift units, with a carrying capacity of 650 tonnes each. This improved the hoisting gear safety by 40%.

The jacks were loaded gradually, initially 5 tonnes and then increased to 100 tonnes. The structure was raised without deviations, within the limits of two piers span.

The floating piers, which transported the railway arch have returned to the Kerch shore. They will undergo inspection and maintenance and then will bring into the place the second motor vehicle arch in the same sequence. The next month the teams of builders will mount the end elements of the arch and lower them to special supports.