Six steel girders were lifted into place in pairs for Duckwood Bridge, using a 1,000-tonne class mobile crane supplied to main contractor John Graham Construction by Baldwins.
The operation entailed bolting together smaller beams mid-air before lifting the completed beams onto the structure.
This is the largest beam lift for the project, requiring the biggest capacity crane, as Duckwood Bridge is 56 metres long and 16 metres wide. The finished beams, weighing 113 tonnes, were then craned onto the concrete abutments.
With the last beams installed, the team is working towards completing the remaining structural concrete works by autumn 2024, ahead of scheme completion next year.
When completed, Duckwood Bridge will carry the new A12 anti-clockwise loop road, over the Weald Brook watercourse.
National Highways project manager Zach Pepper, said: “Completing the final beam lift for the structures in the scheme is a significant milestone and a testament to the hard work of everyone on-site. This was completed all without the need for a full road closure, limiting the impact on the local community.”
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