Built by BESIX Construct LLC, a Middle Eastern subsidiary of a Belgian company BESIX, the Infinity Bridge (formerly Al Shindagha bridge) is distinguished by its unique architectural design inspired by the concept of infinity. It is a distinct landmark that promises to be a showcase of Dubai’s architectural advancements worldwide.
40 steel segments of its infinity arch, ranging in weight up to 130t, needed to be installed over the Dubai creek and above the bridge deck, which could not support a suitably sized crane. Therefore, the installation of the segments could only be performed by cranes operating from the creek’s banks.
To achieve this, crane service providers Mammoet and Aertssen Machinery Services (AMS) teamed up to install the segments, relying on a duo of powerful Demag lattice boom crawler cranes: Aertssen with its CC 3800, positioned at the northern side of the creek and Mammoet with its CC 8800-1, positioned on the southern bank.
The Infinity bridge is 300m long, 22m wide and sits 15.5m high above the water level. Its infinity arch rises higher; some 42m above the creek. As a result of this, the mid bridge segments would require tandem lifts by two cranes positioned on opposite banks of the creek and with a working radius of 140m.
These tandem lifts were performed with the CC 8800-1 handling the majority of the weight – in fact, it could position segments on the opposite side of the bridge, thanks to its main boom length and a large lifting radius.
The entire operation was completed over a period of six months; the last piece of the infinity arch was installed in May 2021.
“Working in partnership with Aertssen, we provided equipment with sufficient capacity and reach, along with specialist engineering to support the operation of the CC 8800-1 to maximize the overall utilization and its capacity,” commented Somnath Bhattacharjee, Crane Operations Manager for Mammoet’s UAE branch. “Each lift required an extraordinary level of precision as the tolerances for joining the segments were a matter of millimeters. But when you have the right machines and a great team, all goes smoothly,” he added.
The AED 394 million (US $105m) Infinity Bridge project is part of Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority’s Shindagha Corridor Improvement project, which covers a 13km-long road network. The bridge can accommodate 24,000 vehicles per hour in both directions and features a combined three-meter-wide track for pedestrians and cyclists. It is part of the RTA’s relentless efforts to keep pace with the ever-growing Dubai landscape.
The Infinity Bridge – an architectural masterpiece – opened to traffic on January 16, 2021.
