SubscribeSpecialists from the Archinal company recently had just one day to demolish a 90-year-old stone and cement bridge.
Among other factors, this was made possible by the use of two HB 2200 hydraulic breaker units operating in tandem, each mounted on a Volvo EC 290B carrier.
The 25 m long and 8 m wide bridge was built in 1914 near Meinerzhagen in Germany. It had been blown up by retreating German troops during World War II in order to hold up the allied troops pursuing them.
However, after the War, the bridge was rebuilt in 1945-1946. The fact that no reinforcing steel was encountered during demolition indicates that no iron and steel was available for rebuilding in the post-war era. As a result, the two HB 2200 units had no trouble with the mixture of natural stone and cement, breaking the bridge into some 1400 m3 of crusher-sized rubble.
The two operators carefully co-ordinated all stages of their work, i.e. demolition of the bridge and foundations, securing and moving the carriers, collection and preparation of the rubble for removal, to allow a continuous process. Archinal completed the job on schedule without incident. During the demolition work, traffic was routed over the already completed new bridge.
