Mammoet Helps Bridge Start New Life as a Chicago Cycle Path

UTRECHT, The Netherlands (May 15, 2014) – Mammoet, a provider of solutions for lifting, transporting, installing and decommissioning large and heavy structures, has relocated a century-old railway bridge 8 kilometers in the northern suburbs of Chicago, helping it start a second life as a cycle path.

The bridge is 21 meters long, 9 meters wide, 2 meters high and–being made from 2-centimeter thick steel plates riveted together–weighs a total of 89 tons. It once carried an elevated rail line 4 meters over Ashland Avenue but has lain abandoned for the past 50 years.

Working closely with its client, Walsh Construction Company, Mammoet transported the bridge to its new home in Western Avenue. The move itself took two hours traveling at walking speed.

Mammoet focused on the engineering involved, with Walsh providing additional personnel. The project required the use of two 10-line self-propelled modular transporters, four-point jacking system using 57Te climbing jacks, and steel mats.

The relocated, refurbished and repainted bridge will form part of the new 4-kilometer Bloomingdale Trail, built on the same closed railway. The trail is due to open to the public in 2015. The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, keenly supports this and other expansions of the city’s extensive cycle network.

“The kind of adaptive reuse seen in the Ashland/Western bridge replacement is one of the hallmarks of the project, which is centered on being both environmentally friendly and cost-efficient,” Emanuel said.

The bridge-relocation project was completed on schedule in April.