Construction equipment ideal for the maintenance of bridges and tunnels

Which construction equipment to rent for the maintenance of bridges and tunnels?

Many of the funds allocated by the PNRR will go to bridge and tunnel maintenance activities. To be precise, a total of 1.15 billion have been allocated over three years for the safety, reconstruction and checks of viaducts, tunnels and over 30,000 bridges spread across the territory. Thanks to these funds, the maintenance of bridges and tunnels will be increasingly requested, so let’s find out which are the best construction equipment to rent for this type of work!

Bridge maintenance

A bridge is composed of two fundamental constituent elements, the structure and the superstructure. In the CGTE rental fleet, you will be able to rent construction equipment that aids your operation in all constituent parts of a bridge.

Rental of construction equipment for the substructure

The substructure of a bridge is made up of abutments (or abutments) and pylons that support the road surface. To operate on pylons, aerial platforms of different types are used; for example, to operate on urban structures or overpasses we recommend renting a HX 195 MULTITEL PAGLIERO truck-mounted platform which allows a working height of 19 metres. If, however, for your bridge maintenance operation you need to have several operators work at the same time, the aerial platform suitable for you is the GS 4390 RT GENIE, which thanks to the capacity of its basket can support 7 people.

When we work with extremely high pylons, however, it is advisable to rent telescopic platforms. In the CGTE rental park you can find telescopic platforms such as the 1350 SJP JLG platform which reaches up to 45 meters in height. To operate directly from the street level and work underneath it, the most suitable aerial platform is an under-bridge platform such as the ABC 60/L BARIN, which, thanks to its shape and peculiarities, allows a safe, fast and economical access system.

Rental of construction equipment for the superstructure

The superstructure of a bridge is composed of road surface, deck and beams. If your operation will take place on a road surface, for example for the removal or maintenance of the road surface, we recommend renting skid steer loaders such as the 262 CAT combined with a PL 4520 type cutter. Subsequently, to complete your operation on the road surface you you will need a vibrating roller, such as the CB34 CAT which, with the action of the appropriate roller, can compact the soil thanks to its weight; or we recommend renting vibrating plates such as APF 2050 AMMANN which, thanks to their size, are ideal for compacting soil and asphalt in small areas or in difficult to access areas.

Cleaning operations are also carried out on the decks. For this type of operation, HD 9/23 G high pressure washers are often rented given their autonomy as they do not require electricity. Another frequent operation on decks is the maintenance of damaged areas, which can be carried out using GBH 12-52 DV manual demolition machines created for drilling up to diameters of 52 mm or even with the rental of CB60 sandblasters ideal for bridge maintenance when combined with U190 compressors.

Construction equipment for tunnel maintenance

Telescopic lifts are fundamental in tunnel maintenance work. The CGTE rental fleet offers MT 1335 MANITOU type lifts which supports up to 35 quintals and furthermore, thanks to its Joystick Switch & Move function it is possible to control the telescopic arm with just one hand.

Tunnels are among the most difficult works to manage, considering that they are in direct contact with the ground and groundwater. Furthermore, they may be subject to ground movements that occur over time so that additional loading conditions may arise during their life, leading to additional stress states for the linings in place.

The main intervention in the tunnels is for maintenance and restoration of the vaults; they are worked on with manual breakers of the GBH 12-52 DV type and MXF COS350-601 type cut-off saws, which are ideal if we operate on small portions given their size and battery power. For interventions in medium-sized areas, it is advisable to rent CAT 309 type crawler mini-excavators combined with an SB 52 hydraulic demolition hammer, which thanks to its excellent power-weight ratio can crush any type of rock or concrete of any hardness or physical property despite his 55 kg. Instead, if you have to operate on large areas inside a tunnel, we recommend renting a CAT 318 triple crawler excavator, the most powerful crawler excavator in our rental fleet, ideal for maintenance operations in combination with a hydraulic hammer.

Other construction equipment useful during maintenance of tunnels and bridges

In addition to construction equipment to be used during maintenance operations, such as excavators, aerial platforms or vibrating rollers, it is also useful to rent other types of equipment. For example, to supply electricity to the construction site, the ideal would be the 67 kVA generator set with power from 33 to 100kVA, which can be used to power the LINKTOWER7 GENERAC electric light towers.

When we operate in a tunnel, maintaining correct air circulation inside the tunnel is essential, which is why the rental of TTV 4500 TROTEC type aerators is highly recommended as they are ideal for ensuring correct ventilation in poorly ventilated rooms. Finally, if your bridge or tunnel maintenance operation involves many technicians, engineers and workers, it will be useful to rent modular constructions with which to set up base camps to guarantee safe spaces for any need.