UNIBRIDGE steel bridge installation

Installation – Transportation – on 6m rigid trucks (6m modules only)

UNIBRIDGE® components can be transported to and from the site in several ways:

  • On 6m rigid trucks
  • On 12m flat bed trailers
  • In 6m (20ft) or 12m (40ft) ISO sea containers

Assembly

UNIBRIDGE® has been designed for easy and quick installation with the minimum of personnel and equipment including medium capacity lifting equipment (mechanical shovels, cranes, hoists, winch etc).

Placing by crane or launching of the pre-assembled bridge are the two principal methods of bridge construction.

The required abutments and/or piles must be prepared beforehand to support the full loads of the structure in service. More information about abutments is available in the technical data section.

For each lateral girder, the 6.0m or 11.4m standard box girders are joined together by way of steel pins ensuring the continuity of the bridge.

Note: 6.0m and 11.4m are the measurements (+/- 2mm) between the center line(s) of the steel pins and/or the end(s) of the girder.

Example assembly of a single-lane structure

  • The first lateral girder is assembled and fitted with its guardrails
  • It is then installed on its final support through craning or launching
  • The same procedure is used for the second girder, which is installed parallel to the first.
  • Cross-beams spacers are assembled to join the two girders
  • The carriage way is constructed by installation of the central flooring elements
  • The single-lane bridge is now complete

To make a two-lane bridge, a third identical girder is placed alongside the other two, using the same procedures and techniques.

Equipment requirements

It varies according to the site and the technique used (craning, jetting or launching) but the equipment required is generally relatively light. As an example, the equipment required to construct the bridge shown in the photos on this page was:

  • Telescopic crane
  • Temporary bracing elements and hand tools
  • Numbers of workers including the foreman: 6
  • Assembly time: Could be as low as 12 hours

Crane lifts UNIBRIDGE® steel bridge module onto truck for transportationUNIBRIDGE® steel bridge in place

The launching method will only be used when either heavy mobile cranes are not available or access to the site is poor.

UNIBRIDGE® steel bridge schematic