28.11.2020
Bridge wipe out
A large All Terrain crane has caused significant damage to an old bridge on the A-85 road through the village of Auchraw in Scotland, just before the junction with the A-84 north west of Stirling, yesterday.
The crane, which looks like a 500 tonne Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 from the James Jack fleet - part of Ainscough Crane Hire - was apparently driving on the road which is approved for cranes this size, but there was work being carried out on the bridge at the time with pedestrian barriers restricting the available bridge width.
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The bridge at Auchraw in Scotland
The driver tried to squeeze through but clearly a little pressure from the crane’s wheels travelling right on the edge was enough to collapse the bridge side wall. Thankfully the crane did not end up in the Ogle Burn.
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Too close to the edge
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Getting the crane off of the bridge without causing more damage could be a challenge.
Picklehoffer
A genuine question....who pays for the damage to the bridge and crane. No doubt the recovery of the crane will have cost thousands too. Is it ultimately the planning authority that approved the route or will James Jack have to bear some of the cost?
Crane lads
Harry all I can tell you is that the crane had been over that bridge before. But this time encountered road works routing was informed and the routing office was informed by the authorities it's Safe.
Jib up
This is a real problem with routes you cannot deviate from it.even if the police tell you they have to take responsibility,ainscough have reasonable routes, not like some companies who travel Willie nillie
Harry Sharp
Crane lads, thank you for pointing this out. I didn't know the responsibility lies with local authority, police, rail network etc so James Jack are off the hook. However, despite the route being approved, shouldn't the driver have used his/her judgment and decided to stop...? Where does the ultimate responsibility for an incident like this lie? Can anyone advise?
Crane lads
Harry it's not James jack's who decided what bridges to go over it's the local authority/police network rail and so on. All weights dimensions are submitted and they say yes or no.
Harry Sharp
This is hugely irresponsible of the person who decided on this route. If there was any doubt that the crane wouldn’t get over it comfortably, an alternative route should have been used. Huge damage to a lovely old bridge. Bridge might be closed off now if dangerous to use - big inconvenience for regular users.I hope James Jack get prosecuted.
LTD
Not the safe choice
orrabeel
Bridge would have been designed for a horse and cart but must confess it held that beast up, a testament to the men who built it, probably more than a hundred years ago.
Eric_L
Maybe it's easy to say in hindsight, but...
That doesn't look like it was ever going to work