In Toulouse, the Sarens group lifted sections of the Rapas footbridge, which rises 70 m above the Garonne.
The "Rapas" footbridge in Toulouse, under construction since July 2022, connects the Ile du Ramier and is accessible only to pedestrians and cyclists. On the left bank, the footbridge crosses the Garonne with a main span of 150 meters, a width of 5 meters and a height of 70 meters above the water.
On this project, the Sarens group carried out several major operations on behalf of Eiffage, lifting the bridge sections. The bridge is a steel structure composed of supports and concrete ramps. After installation of the tower head, which rises 65 metres above the Garonne, the deck sections were progressively assembled above the river and guided from the island to the top of the embankment on the Avenue de Muret side.
Sections weighing up to 62 tonnes
The 65 m main mast was divided into 4 sections and the remaining 8B sections were lifted partly from the river bank with a CC2500 crane and partly from the river surface using a barge-mounted crane (SMB, Sarens Modular Barge).
The largest bridge section weighed 51 tonnes and measured 1.225 m high, 17.2 m long and 6.5 m wide, while the largest mast section weighed 62 tonnes and measured 3.89 m high, 18.44 m long and 3.8 m wide. The eight 12-metre sections were welded together to complete the track.
The complete site equipment had to be installed over 10 months and consisted of a CC2500 crawler crane and a SSL114m (Sarens Super Lift), a Sennebogen SH35.5m, two SMBs ( one 12×20″ and one 12×40'') and 3 electric chain blocks of 20 Tons heading and 8 strand jacks to secure the bridge mast during erection before installing the final stays of the main mast. Everything was transported from Belgium, with a total of 23 trucks for the CC2500 crane and 26 trucks for the SMB barge.
