After installing more than 4,500 prefabricated segments, crossing one of Canada's busiest highways (Highway 40) on three occasions, and traveling 16 kilometers, the Anne and Marie launch gantries completed their adventure today on the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) after three years of work.
This was the first time in Quebec that a launching gantry was used. However, once this technology was mastered by a team of more than 300 workers, the cruising speed was impressive! Indeed, the launching gantry makes it possible to build a span in 2 to 3 days, whereas a traditional method requires 2 to 3 weeks. This was particularly useful to limit the impact on traffic.
It should be noted that 200 workers from Béton préfabriqué du Lac (BPDL), located in St-Eugène-de-Grantham, worked on the fabrication of more than 4 500 prefabricated segments required for the structures.
Some data on the launching gantries :
Number of spans constructed: 410 spans;
Length of the beams: 105 meters;
Capacity: Up to 550 tons (each segment weighs about 50 tons)
SOURCE: CDPQ Infra
