The crane can lift 1,350 tonnes – which will come in handy when it comes time for Severfield UK to put in place the arches around mid-February.
The biggest crane in the country will soon be heading to Manchester to help build the Ordsall Chord .
The Liebherr LR 11350, a 1,350 tonne beast, will be in the city in February to lift and place the ‘arch’ of the bridge to link Piccadilly and Victoria stations.
It comes as business leaders report a ‘shortage’ of cranes due to all the construction work in the city.
The crane can lift 1,350 tonnes – which will come in handy when it comes time for Severfield UK to put in place the arches around mid-February.
The last few weeks have seen some big changes at the Trinity Way site, with steel sections of the bridge shifted into place.
Jarrod Hulme, project manager for the Ordsall Chord, explained how the bigger crane would be used.
He said:
“It’s the biggest crane of its kind available in the UK. It’s a crawler crane which means it’s on tracks.
The arches are going to go in that are currently laid flat on site.
Using both of the cranes, one at each end, we will rotate them into vertical positions and bolt them together.”
A public footbridge is now in place, set to give pedestrians as well as passengers a view of the historic Stephenson’s Bridge.
A pair of public piazzas will also be build on each side of the River Irwell.
