Portal to North: Unlocking New Travel Capacities

Tue December 03, 2024
Liebherr

International construction firm Skanska teamed up with Liebherr for a historic project: replacing the century-old Portal North Bridge in a critical rail traffic section over the Hackensack River.

Utilizing Liebherr's deep foundation machines and crawler cranes, the fleet proved its cutting-edge power, turning a congested bottleneck into a free access passageway for more than 200,000 passengers every day.

History in the Making

Providing a major transport route across the Hackensack River, the Portal North Bridge has served as a critical link between Newark, N.J., and Penn Station, N.Y., for over a century. The timeworn infrastructure was built as a two-track bridge that opens and closes for incoming maritime traffic.

This system has caused significant delays for modern-day commuters as the bridge regularly gets stuck upright. The need for a replacement bridge has become more evident with the growing number of malfunctions.

Utilizing multiple Liebherr LR 1300.1 SX crawler cranes, an LB 45, LB44, LB 30 and two LB 36 drilling rigs, Skanska began constructing a replacement two-track, high-level fixed bridge in 2022. This modern structure is designed to eliminate additional traffic backups due to openings for maritime traffic or bridge malfunctions.

The new Portal North Bridge is being constructed adjacent to the existing bridge 50 ft. above the river and spans approximately 2.5 mi. This massive undertaking also will include decommissioning and removal of the current bridge and construction of retaining walls, rail bridges, deep foundations, concrete piers and structural steel bridge spans.

Photo courtesy of Liebherr

Rising Above With the Right Machines

Skanska values Liebherr's global expertise for mastering some of the most complex infrastructure challenges in the world. In addition, Liebherr USA Co. shares its commitment to open technology solutions, efficient machines and extraordinary customer service.

"There are a variety of factors that play into the selection of equipment for projects," said Brendan Dwyer, project executive of underpinning and foundations at Skanska USA. "However, key drivers are availability, price and service. Being a large organization, we have experience with several manufacturers and hold Liebherr as a leader in these specific areas."

The LR 1300.1 SX crawler crane was specifically chosen due to high service availability from Liebherr. With five of these crawler cranes on site, Skanska used these to drive permanent steel pipe piles, steel sheet piles and bridge pier form and erection, among other tasks.

The newest generation of the LR 1300.1 SX has a lifting capacity of 331 tons. The crawler crane has many innovative assistance systems including self-loading and self-assembly as well as ground pressure visualization, which increase operational safety and simplify handling for operators on large sites such as the Portal North Bridge.

Showcasing a new cab design, the crane also offers a modern design and with many features for additional operator comfort including improved airflow, optimized field of vision and increased noise protection.

The self-loading and self-assembling capabilities of the 1300.1 SX allows for unloading and assembly without the need of an auxiliary crane. This allows for more cost-effective transportation, quick commissioning and efficient operation on and off the bridge site.

When disassembled the LR 1300.1 SX has a compact transport width of approximately 10 ft., which permits cost-effective transportation with standard low loaders. The connecting pieces of the luffing jib also can be transported in the connecting boom sections of the main boom to save space.

Second to None

Skanska also is utilizing the Liebherr LB 45 drilling rig on the Portal North Bridge. The LB 45‘s torque is 450 kNm and offers various methods such as Kelly drilling, continuous flight auger drilling, soil mixing, partial and full displacement drilling or double rotary drilling can be applied to the LB 45.

Skanska used this machine to install drilled shafts with permanent steel casing approximately 100 ft. to rock for 4 ft., 5 ft. and 6 ft. diameter shafts. This drilling rig offers strong winches enabling high performance even under rigorous project requirements such as Skanska's.

Dwyer added, "When it comes to drilling, Liebherr power is second to none."

Despite the large size of the LB 45 drilling rig, the upper carriage is compact and designed for small working radii. This allows for working at jobsites with limited space and a lot of moving equipment. Additionally, both the counterweight and the leader are modularly constructed enabling quick and easy assembly and flexible application for Skanska operators.

As two prominent international companies with significant operations in the Unites States, both Liebherr and Skanska have made significant contributions in the construction industry. Skanska continues to rely on Liebherr as a well-established heavy construction equipment manufacturer to meet its evolving needs and introduce cutting-edge technological advancements and strategies, positioning Skanska for continued success on future large-scale projects.

Photo courtesy of Liebherr