A30 Bridge lift postponed on safety grounds

Plans for a major lifting operation over the A30 in Cornwall this weekend have been postponed for safety reasons.

Ainscough on site at the A30A two mile section of the A30 north of Truro was due to be closed this weekend to allow a new bridge to be lifted over the road as part of Costain’s £330m A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross upgrade.

However, Costain and its specialist lifting contractor, Ainscough Crane Hire, have recognised that the ground is not firm enough to proceed as planned.  

They have pushed the operation back a week to the weekend of 10-13 February to allow for further work on preparing the ground.

Without a solid platform, there is an unreasonable risk of the crane toppling over onto the motorway, load and all. National Highways senior project manager Neil Winter said: “Our contractors have detected unsuitable ground conditions for the cranedeployment, and we have taken the decision to put back the bridge installation by a week to ensure everything is right for what will be a large-scale lifting operation.

“Adverse weather, a mixture of heavy rainfall and low temperatures, hasn’t helped recently, these circumstances are out of our control, and the safety and effectiveness of the operation are our primary concerns.

“Although we would have preferred to lift the bridge deck in place this coming week, we have allowed contingency in our programme, and decided to postpone to the following weekend to ensure that everything is in place ahead of the installation operation, and to give people as much notice as we can.

“The extra time will improve the ground in terms of firmer footings for the crane operation, and we’re confident a slight delay will help the teams with that, without impacting on our future road opening date.”