A sizeable project for versatile crane company

On the Aanpak Ring Zuid project, Wagenborg Nedlift has more than demonstrated its versatility. From relatively simple lifting work to extremely complex assignments, such as replacing the movement of the Euvelgunner bridge, which even required a year of preparation. Truly a project of stature for the company specialized in horizontal, vertical and heavy transport.

Wagenborg Nedlift has been involved in Combinatie Herepoort's Aanpak Ring Zuid from the start. "We started there seven years ago, and when you start something you have to finish it," says Rick Kleiverda with a laugh. Back then he was a crane operator, now he fills his days as a work planner. "One of the first tasks on the project was unloading the sheet piles they were going to use to make the large excavation pit for the sunken location. These were brought in by ship and transferred to the quay in Sappemeer. We were on standby with our 400-tonne mobile telescopic crane to unload the sheet piles. We also, together with a number of other transporters, provided the transport towards the construction site."

Safe hoisting

Wagenborg Nedlift was then flown in again to lift the outriggers used to stabilize the construction pit. "We put the outriggers in place, and later we helped remove the outriggers. They were pretty heavy pieces of between 30 and 40 tons each. There were heavy cranes on the edge of the construction pit, but of course that was fully calculated. We do all the engineering in-house, so we can do our work safely," Rick assures. Later, the large cranes were swapped for smaller ones to hoist rebar and formwork materials into place, among other things. "We also provided crane assistance in erecting and dismantling the scaffolding."

Exchange motion work

A gem for Wagenborg Nedlift on the project was undoubtedly the exchange of the Euvelgunner Bridge's movement mechanism. "Here we replaced the bridge valves, the drive mechanism and the ballast box," says work planner Jan Dinkla. "It was an extremely complex puzzle. The work space in the two concrete basements was only a few dozen square meters, with no room for cranes and other usual equipment. Some parts were meters long and tens of thousands of pounds heavy, including the ballast boxes weighing 140 tons each. Therefore, a long preparation preceded in order to be prepared for the moment suprême. Moreover, we used several divisions of our parent company during this operation, so we had tugs and pontoons at our disposal in addition to our cranes."

Extensive equipment deployment

In addition to the combination, Wagenborg Nedlift was regularly called in by subcontractors. "For example, we laid and removed all the emergency bridges at Julianaplein," says Rick. "The versatility of the equipment deployment made the project special for us, ranging from a truck-mounted crane to our 700-ton mobile telescopic crane with all the bells and whistles. It was really quite diverse, and we are going to miss that. Especially also the proximity of the project less than a kilometer from our Groningen facility. That doesn't happen often." Rick and Jan look back on a pleasant cooperation with Combinatie Herepoort and all other partners for whom Wagenborg Nedlift provided the necessary assistance.