Jack-up Liffey supports major maintenance of the Grave weir

The Netherlands faces a huge major maintenance challenge: dozens of bridges, dams, and weirs need to be refurbished or replaced in the coming years. The weir at Grave also requires major maintenance. On behalf of Rijkswaterstaat, the Mourik Swarco Combination (CMD) is undertaking this extensive project, which involves renewing yokes, sluices, sluice drives, and crane trolleys.

Working on the water requires customization

Doing a major maintenance of a weir is largely done in the water, which presents challenges. No scaffolding may be attached to the bridge/weir. Therefore, a solution from the water has been chosen. For this project, the modular jack-up “Liffey” and the Tiger II push boat from Baars were therefore chosenby Mourik. A safe and stable workplace, specially designed to enable heavy hydraulic engineering work. It was the first time Mourik had worked with a jack-up, but thanks to the guidance of a jacking engineer from Baars, the project got off to a smooth start. The push boat assists with equipment and moving the jack-up at the weir.

Special circumstances in the Meuse

A concrete washboard was found on the riverbed near the Grave weir, a significant bump that made it difficult to position the jack-up. This obstacle was overcome with special spud cans under the spud poles. Baars, together with CMD, developed a safety toe board to prevent falling objects, in accordance with occupational health and safety regulations. This feature was part of the measures taken to make the pontoon safely usable for forklift operations. Of course, the inland shipping certificate was also provided, making the jack-up immediately operational. Enjoy the projectmovie here.

Smart logistics and safe execution

The jack-up was assembled in Sliedrecht and transported to Grave by tugboat, together with the assistance boat alongside. There, Baars engineers placed the structure on its legs. This was a more efficient approach than assembling it on site. In addition, Baars provided an experienced jacking master to rule out any risks. The result: safe and smooth execution of the work, without any disruption to road or shipping traffic.

Back home five months later

After about five months, the job was done and the Liffey and Tiger II returned to Sliedrecht. This project demonstrates the flexibility and reliability of Baars’ fleet of modular pontoons and jack-ups. A great collaboration with Mourik is now history and we have another project to be proud of!

Partner in major maintenance of engineering structures

Whether it concerns bridges, dams or weirs, Baars offers customized solutions that combine safety, efficiency and reliability. The major maintenance of the Grave weir was a success thanks to the Liffey jack-up.
Do you have a hydraulic engineering project that requires customization? Please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.