Contractors working on behalf of Highways England will lift 30 giant concrete bridge beams into place over the A160 near Immingham as part of a £88.4 million project to improve access to one of the UK’s busiest ports.
They will use a 50-foot crane to install the bridge beams, which are each up to 28 metres long and weigh up to 76 tonnes – equivalent to the weight of 33 shipping containers or 51 family cars.
Each beam will take approximately two hours to lift into place, and will require the A180 to be closed for two weekends at Brocklesby Interchange.
Once the new beams have been installed, work can begin to construct the bridge deck which will see the interchange become a roundabout, improving access both to and from the A160 which runs to the Port of Immingham.
Ben Ridgeon, project manager at Highways England, said: “This bridge beam lift is an important construction phase of the Port of Immingham project, which will significantly improve journeys to and from the port.
“The new roundabout at Brocklesby Interchange, where the A160 meets the A180 will increase capacity at the junction and make it easier for drivers to move to and from the main road to the port.
“Our contractor will be using major lifting equipment and it is essential we close the road over two weekends to ensure maximum safety to both road workers and road users alike.”
Improvements will also be made to junctions along the route, including a new roundabout at the junction with the A180, a new bridge over the A160 on Town Street, and a new road under the railway line by the port.
The Port of Immingham is the UK’s largest port by tonnage and handles up to 55 million tonnes of goods every year, including nearly 20 million tonnes of oil and 10 million tonnes of coal.
