Giant solution to ‘mission impossible’

Nov 19 2008 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

CONSTRUCTION company Morgan Ashurst is tackling a “mission impossible” project in St Helens by using a huge crane.

The company is building a £5.3m, three-storey office block at Chalon Way. The site is served by only one access road, which runs under a railway bridge and therefore gives only 10ft headroom.

As part of the project, Morgan Ashurst was required to provide access for emergency vehicles, which would otherwise have been unable to clear the 10ft height restriction.

The only solution was to build a bridge over the canal that runs parallel to the site. But all the cranes which were able to complete the work were also too big to clear the 10ft height restriction.

So the firm brought a machine, capable of lifting 500 tonnes, on to land 30 metres away from the site at Chalon Way – which has easier access.

The machine lifted and moved steel supports weighing up to 46 tonnes each and placed them across the canal.

“This has been an unusual and challenging project,” says Morgan Ashurst project manager Jeff Boothroyd.

“In the past, people said it would be impossible to develop the site due to its limited access, but we are used to tackling complex projects and we knew we could get the job done. We’re pleased to see that the work is progressing well.”

The office block is due to be completed next month.