The fully assembled steel footbridge for pedestrians
and cyclists was more than 33 meters in length, nearly 6.5 meters in width and
weighed 48 tonnes. With the tractor and the semi-trailer, the length of the
entire unit exceeded 39 meters while the height reached 4.5 m.
The unusual transport undertaking started in the
Tri-City and finished in southern Sweden – in the very centre of Malmö. It
involved delivering the cargo first to Swinoujscie, then the footbridge was
successfully carried by ferry to Trelleborg, to finally reach where it was to
be installed. In total, nearly 700 km to cover.
The vehicle chosen for this non-standard transport
project was a 6×4 FH16 Volvo tractor, 660 horse power, with a gross unit weight
of 120 tonnes. The load was placed on a 6-axle Nooteboom semi-trailer equipped
with an extended deck, hydraulic suspension and an axle steering system. It can
be extended to the maximum length of almost 42 meters, although this time the
extra length of 16 meters was sufficient.
The obstacles encountered on the route included:
- toll
gates at the A1 motorway, which were partially dismantled to allow the easy
passage of cargo;
- roundabouts
which required very precise maneuvers in the opposite direction to the traffic
(on the left side, against the traffic flow);
- a
railway bridge in Jastrowie (national road 22) – slow and careful passage under
the bridge due to just centimeters of space separating the load from the top of
the bridge structure;
- tight
junctions in smaller towns the passage through which required the trailer axles
to be remotely controlled;
- Swinoujscie
port area, where the harbor structures and the supports for footbridges created
many obstacles. In many situations, the margin of space was a hair’s breadth;
- the
ferry exit ramp in Trelleborg – leaving the ferry at 90 degrees to the left
with a load of such length required meticulous precision from both the driver
and the pilot crew;
- passing
through the suburbs of Malmö to reach the very center of the city – this
involved going round many roundabouts (which had to be passed in the opposite
direction to the flow of traffic) and intersections (full of traffic islands
and lights), which also had to be managed at an angle of 90 degrees;
- positioning
the transport unit for unloading – driving onto the middle of an intersection,
reversing at an angle of 90 degrees and backing towards the place of unloading.
The efforts to overcome all the most difficult moments
and obstacles on the route can be seen in a short video report prepared by a
crew that accompanied the Scandinavian
Express team on the entire length of the route.