6 minutes - magazine 02 | 2026
Load capacity instead of dynamite
Anyone travelling through Ulm by train or car passes one of southern Germany’s most important transport hubs. That was precisely where an extraordinary demolition project was on the agenda at the start of the year: an outdated federal road bridge needed to be removed. However, if such a bridge spans a rail yard more than 100 metres wide, the options for demolishing it are limited.
When explosions are not an option ...
In Ulm, demolition by explosives was just as out of the question as conventional demolition using excavators. Instead, the dilapidated structure had to be dismantled into individual sections and carefully removed. After around a week of continuous crane work, the large bridge had been cut into 52 sections and completely dismantled. A Liebherr LR 11000 crawler crane was the star of the show.
Due to the complete closure of the track network, the entire project was subject to considerable time pressure. The schedule was correspondingly tight for the team from the Swiss crane and logistics company Emil Egger AG, which had brought not only the large crawler crane but also a Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane to the construction site. Diamond wire saws were in operation round the clock, cutting the old prestressed concrete structure piece by piece into individual segments. Beforehand, the respective bridge sections were slung onto the hook of the LR 11000 so that they could be lifted out in a controlled manner once they had been completely cut through.
“Hook up!”: Peter Stricker knows the LR 11000 like no one else. During the bridge demolition in Ulm, he was responsible for the precise operation of the large crane during the day.
“One of the major challenges in this unusual infrastructure project in Ulm was dividing the bridge into sections. A key factor in this was determining the weight of the individual sections as accurately as possible. This was the only way we could compensate for the expected load via the adjustable derrick ballast and lift the component safely once it had been completely severed,” explained Michael Egger, Managing Director of Emil Egger AG. “For the largest sections of carriageway, measuring around 400 square metres, the LR 11000 was still able to handle gross loads of up to 510 tonnes on its hook.”
Dimensions become clear: Dyneema slings are textile lifting and lashing systems that offer high load-bearing capacity whilst being lightweight. Compared with steel chains or wire ropes, they weigh only a fraction as much, making them much easier to handle on site. The load-balancing rocker, which ensures an even distribution of the load across all rope strands, can also be seen on the crane hook.
Crane ballast of 750 tonnes
To do this, the Swiss had brought with them plenty of ballast. In total, a maximum of 750 tonnes of steel was loaded onto the crawler crane. Of this, 450 tonnes alone were accounted for by the derrick ballast, which, via the hydraulically adjustable V-Frame, was extended to a radius of 30 metres during some lifting operations. “The folding frame and VarioTray have, of course, been a great help to us here and have made the work much easier,” said Egger. “Particularly during the lifts where we had to bring the bridge sections in from a considerable distance and set them down near the crawler crane. Thanks to the split derrick ballast, there was no need for the time-consuming process of re-ballasting using an auxiliary crane.”
Round the clock work was being carried out on the demolition of the bridge. Clearly visible at the rear of the crane: the retracted V-Frame with the split VarioTray ballast pallet.
The tricky bridge dismantling operation took place in two stages for the cranes: for the first – and also the heaviest – lifts over relatively short distances, the crawler crane was fitted with an 84-metre-long lattice main boom. The boom was then extended to 126 metres so that the bridge segments further away could also be dismantled.
Wide reach: With its 126-metre-long lattice boom, the crawler crane lifts bridge segments from a great distance above the railway tracks. It took around 40 heavy-haul transports and four days of set-up work before the crawler crane was able to begin its round-the-clock operation against the backdrop of the world-famous Ulm Minster.
Night shift: The saws worked their way through massive bridge structure. For crane operater Max Frei, this meant one thing above all else: the utmost concentration – often for several hours at a stretch.
Sophisticated slinging gear
Emil Egger AG specialises in complex civil engineering and infrastructure projects. As well as high-performance cranes, this also includes specialised slinging and lifting systems that enable the safe and efficient lifting of even the heaviest components. Michael Egger has fitted his large crawler cranes – the LR 11000 used in Ulm and an LR 1700-1.0 – with an innovative Dyneema suspension system. This means that comparatively light slings can be used even for loads of more than 600 tonnes. The system is complemented by a special balancing lever on the hook block. It ensures an even load distribution and guarantees that all four rope strands remain under tension at all times.
Nibbling away: Immediately after dismantling, several demolition excavators set to work on the large reinforced concrete sections using their powerful grippers. The resulting construction waste was continuously removed to make way for the next section of the bridge.
The structure, which weighs around five tonnes, offers a further advantage. Michael Egger explains: “Thanks to generously dimensioned radii and specially designed wide-body shackles, there is no need to take into account any load reductions due to sharp edges on the hook or shackle.” A crucial factor in heavy-load lifts such as these in Ulm.
After around a week of day-and-night crane operations, the old bridge was history. The last concrete sections had been removed, and the tracks were clear again. For the cranes, however, this doesn’t yet mean farewell to Ulm: with the construction of the new overpass and the subsequent demolition of the opposite carriageway, Emil Egger AG’s red machines will soon be returning to the city on the Danube.
This article was published in the UpLoad magazine 02 | 2026.
