Water pipe lifting job for borehole under A9

In preparation for the tunnelling under the A9 at Amsterdam-Zuidoost, Saan lifted two water pipes with the aid of 10 telecranes in the correct arc in order to allow them to be bored under the new A9 tunnel. The contract was carried out for Visser & Smit Hanab.

The water pipes were buried in two days with the aid of first 10 and then 9 cranes. The boring and the burial of the two water pipes were carried out by Visser & Smit Hanab for Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate General of Public Works and Water Management). This was associated with the widening of the A9, which in the course of this work is being positioned in a tunnel so as to eliminate the disturbance to the surrounding residential area. The water pipes go under the tunnel at a depth of 35 metres.

A comprehensive lifting plan was produced together with Visser & Smit Hanab. In order to put the water pipes at the right angle to the ground by the borehole, they had to be moved in the correct arc. The telecranes, each spaced 30 metres apart, lifted the 700-metre-long water pipes to the correct height so as to create that arc. The pipes weigh 480 kilos per metre.

Saan Crane Hire has often assisted with the burial of water pipes and heating pipes but in this job they had to be lifted over a viaduct. To be able to suspend the water pipe in the correct manner in the cradles by the viaduct, Saan used a 15-metre work platform. The cradles hung from the crane’s lifting hook and they consisted of rollers by means of which the water pipe was flexibly fed through the borehole. To successfully complete the lifting job on this site, in addition to the cranes and their crew Saan also provided a rigging supervisor.