Terex assists Mexico city road building

Mexican contractor Ingenieros Civiles Asociados SA (ICA) is using Terex all terrain cranes on a major highway project in Mexico City.

In order to ease congestion in the city, a new elevated road system is being built to the south of the city. The first section is the 11.3km long Autopista Urbana Sur (Urban Highway South) being built by ICA at a cost of US$450 million. The new road features four lanes - two in each direction - but also includes some stretches of six-lane carriageway.

In order to build the road, prefabricated concrete sections are being made about 40km away from the construction area and brought in and erected during the night.

Contractor ICA owns a fleet of 12 Terex cranes, including several 500 tonne capacity class AC 500-2 all-terrain cranes, which it is using for erecting the main concrete columns, beams and components. Larger components are lifted using tandem lifts.

“Because it is an urban jobsite with limited space for heavy lifting and work access was only available for six hours each night between 23.00 and 05.00, we needed a crane that had quick travel speed, rapid set up time and excellent lift capacity,” said Ignacio Villaseñor Sanchez, ICA equipment director. “The AC 500-2 fit the bill perfectly.”

Some column sections weighed up to 425 tonnes. In total there are about 20,000 pre-cast components made from high strength concrete including about 500 columns varying in height from five to 25 m.

“The AC 500s are lifting at an average height of about 20 meters and carrying out either single or tandem lifts between 10 to 220 tonnes at a radius between 10 to 15,” explained Bernardo Quintana Kawage, general director of ICA.

The project is scheduled to complete by the end of 2013.