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Contractors World UK & Ireland Vol 6 No 1
36
With the arrival of the
Farrans famous ‘Claude
Monique’ barge, river
works are now underway
in Sunderland, where the
company is constructing a
three-span, cable stayed
bridge across the River
Wear.
D
uring coming weeks, the foundations for the
central pylon will begin to take shape with metal
piles inserted into the riverbed and along the
edge of the southern embankment, where bridge sup-
ports will be built.
The ‘Claude Monique’ barge is equipped with two
cranes:
A Sumitomo 40 t telescopic crawler crane which is
the company’s smallest crane and features a hydraulic
system and main crane hoist drum winch of 85 Kn (8.7 t)
line pull. The machine has a swing mechanism with
turnable bearing and a 24-volt electrical system with
two 12-volt batteries.
The 4-section, full-power box construction telescopic
boom extends from 10 m to 32 m and the main crane
hoist cable is 18 mm diameter and 170 m long.
The other crane is a Sumitomo 80T crawler crane
that has fly jib lengths between 9 and 18 m and a rated
output of 183.9Kw/2.20 min.
The boom extends from 12.2 m to 58 m, with boom
hoist and lowering at 40 m/min. The rated output of the
crane is 183.9 kW/2.20 min and its gradient is 30% (17°).
The barge also has a range of piling equipment to help
the construction team to build in the river.
The barge measures 45 m in length and 15 m in width,
with a gross tonnage of 514 T. The barge has two 20 m
hydraulic spud legs and four remote-operated anchor
positioning winches.
It has been recently refurbished and has completed
a 5 year load line inspection in October 2015 and will
provide a platform for the team to work from and is
certainly ready for the job, having just undergone a
RiverWear
Bridge
Works
Underway
Contractors World UK & Ireland