How a 720 tonne load crossed a 40 tonne bridge

It took a real feat of engineering to prepare the Apátfalvi Bridge near the Hungarian-Romanian border for the arrival of a gigantic shipment bound for the Marosnémeti power plant. The small road bridge, where the huge object arrived on Thursday evening, proved to be one of the critical points of the Hungarian transport section. The experts had to find a reliable solution for the temporary support of the bridge, for which they called on the engineers of PERI for help.

During the structural challenge, the 30-metre-long Apátfalvi Bridge with three openings had to be reinforced to ensure the safe passage of a 720-tonne, 100-metre-long and 6-metre-wide generator transport vehicle.> assembly.

Civil engineer Bence Hajós with the help of the engineers at PERI , designed a solution that is heavy-duty, yet structurally easy to implement and efficient in terms of material quantity.

The MULTIPROP system was chosen, which can support up to 9 tonnes per support. A total of 156 pieces of varying lengths were installed for reinforcement, adapted to the terrain conditions under the bridge. Of these, 108 were heavy-duty supports, which played a key role in evenly distributing the enormous load exerted by the assembly.

By directly supporting the track slab, the extra loads were transferred to the concrete slab formed in the stream bed, ensuring stability and even force distribution. The modular system was precisely fitted to the bridge structure, guaranteeing unobstructed and safe passage. The light weight and quick assembly of the aluminium supports enabled rapid installation, which was also an advantage in terms of project costs for the contractor, Cardium Kft..

Record shipment from America, followed by two more

The Magyar Közút Nonprofit Zrt. previously announced that the FELBERMAYR – Bau-Trans Kft. team, with the help of German, Austrian, Romanian and Hungarian experts, launched the huge equipment for the thermal power plant being built in Marosnémeti after more than a year of preparation. The giant generator was the first shipment to arrive by ship from America, then travelled down the Danube and Tisza rivers to Szeged, from where it continued on a 300 km journey by road. Two more record-breaking generators will be shipped in the coming months.