Boring a tunnel below the Świna River in Poland requires the use of heavy equipment. Belgian heavy-lift specialist, Sarens, was recently commissioned to transport and assemble drilling elements to be used in the process. 

For this operation, two sets of SPMTs transported the TBM elements from the port to the construction site for assembly. Then, two CC3800 cranes and an AC300 lifted and assembled the machine so it would be ready for boring operations.

The TBM, which measured 14 metres in diameter with the heaviest component weighing 265 tonnes, was assembled by a CC3800-1 crane in LSL-2 54m configuration. The second CC3800-1 crane, in SSL-1 54m configuration, lifted gantries on the other end of the construction site, with the heaviest load weighing 215 tonnes.

Before the operation could begin, over 100 trucks were used to bring Sarens equipment on site, which took approximately four days. Next, erecting the two cranes presented its own challenges due to narrow access roads, confined space, and a large number of components on the job site. Two teams totalling 14 people worked day and night to assemble the cranes and prepare them for operation.