Ross Bridge has been successfully lifted onto a barge as part of the ongoing refurbishment project. With a weather window of calm conditions on the morning of Monday 23 February, the bridge was craned onto the barge ahead of being transported to a Falmouth for repair works.
Recent wind and sea conditions have delayed the crane lift, but now that the bridge has been removed, a temporary bridge will be put in place to open up the road for this stage of the project.
Cormac provided this update following the operation:
“The Ross Bridge lift has now been successfully carried out. Cormac have been closely monitoring the weather and sea conditions, waiting for a safe and suitable window to carry out this highly technical operation. Based on the forecasts, that window arrived early this morning, allowing the lift to be scheduled.
“At 6am this morning, the tug Vixen skilfully manoeuvred the 40‑metre barge into the channel between the dry dock and causeway, positioning it with precision. Already in place on the sea wall was the 650‑tonne crane — one of only four of its type in the country, ready to be attached to the 26‑tonne bridge. Using specialised lifting rigging, evenly distributed to balance the load, the bridge was connected using pre‑rigged lifting points and straps, and the crane then stabilised with a 90 tonne counterweight to balance it.
“The bridge was then slowly raised, lifted over the sides of the barge, lowered into position, and secured for transport. At the same time, the sea wall was being continuously monitored for any potential signs of movement, caused by the combined weight of the crane, bridge and lifting gear.
“By 8am, Ross Bridge was being towed around to the harbour basin, where it now awaits its onward journey to A&P Falmouth later this week. This next phase will take place once sea conditions around Lizard Point are confirmed to be safe and suitable.
“The temporary bridge is scheduled to be installed (also by crane) at the next available weather window.”
Cormac site manager Lydia Knight also told BBC Cornwall:
“We’re hoping the bridge will be back before Easter but it’s totally dependent on the weather, we’re governed by it.
“Unfortunately we’ve been a bit unlucky with the weather, with all the storms and the weather warnings we’ve had, so it’s just working around that, really.
“We just had to make sure we got a safe weather window in terms of the sea state just to get the barge here.”
See all the photos from the crane lift operation in the slider gallery below:
