Family-owned heavy haulage specialist Allelys lent a strong hand to the Grand Surrey Canal project. The company moved and installed 15 precast concrete sections, each weighing 17.5 tonnes and measuring up to 11.4 metres in length, for the project. 

The unique challenge was installing the units underneath the existing structure. The new construction sits underneath a historic railway bridge, requiring the Allelys’ engineering team to design a precise solution.

Following the engineering stage, SPMTs were deployed for transport. A 160te mobile telescopic crane was used to individually load each arch section onto a 6-axle SPMT, with the trailer’s hydraulic controls providing millimetre accuracy to control the level and final positioning of each unit, Allelys said.

To ensure the stability of the load during transportation, bespoke timber packers were fabricated to match the unique profile of each arch. This in-house capability was crucial to the success of the project and for maintaining the integrity of the structures throughout the process.

“Collaboration and innovative problem solving were key to developing this unique solution, ensuring that the project was executed as safely and precisely as planned,” explained Neil Jones, Senior Commercial Manager at Allelys. “This project will now progress to a subsequent operation that will involve the removal of the main bridge beam from the existing overhead structure, paving the way for the construction of the new bridge deck section.”