PLANNING, EXPERTISE ESSENTIAL FOR HIGH-RISK BRIDGE DEMOLITION PROJECTS

Fast-track, high-pressure bridge
demolition projects, where timeous completion and safety performance is
critical, is a specialised area of expertise for Jet Demolition. The company’s innovative,
state-of-the-art, and technically-advanced methods and machinery allow it to
tackle the most demanding and complex bridge demolition projects.

“Here the increased risk and
high-pressure conditions lend themselves to our specific set of expertise,” Jet
Demolition Contracts Manager Kate
Bester comments. Bridge-demolition projects are typically on a turnkey,
rapid-demolition basis.

They generally include all
aspects of road safety – from temporary road closure design and implementation,
to extensive communication and consultation with the general public, and
liaison with all relevant authorities – to engineering of suitable demolition
methods, planning for unforeseen circumstances, and final road clearing. 

Emergency demolition is often
required where bridge stability or safety is compromised by unforeseen events,
such as traffic accidents, that have impacted the bridge structure, or
vandalism causing structural stability concerns. Emergency bridge projects
invariably impact on the travelling public, as these are, by nature, unplanned
and unforeseen.

“One of the greatest
challenges on an emergency bridge project is to mobilise our plant and
personnel to the works. If a bridge is compromised, all traffic in the
immediate area is gridlocked, until such time that alternative routes are made
available. Under these circumstances, we rely heavily on traffic authorities to
provide emergency escorts to the site, fast-tracking the establishment of plant
and personnel,” Bester explains.

Any form of emergency work is
always a concern, as the structural stability of the compromised structure is
unknown. It is thus critical to have seasoned and experienced demolition
personnel on-site as soon as possible to assess, manage, and mitigate the
relevant risks.

Often first responders to an
emergency project include operations and engineering team members, who assess
the initial risk, and provide feedback to the rest of the team at head office,
advising on the envisaged methods and resource requirements.

“Jet Demolition’s strength
lies in its people and plant. Our crews are disciplined, experienced, and
responsible, keeping everyone safe during the most challenging projects.

“Furthermore, our redundancy
and variety of plant and equipment allows us to provide rapid-response to
emergency projects, with demolition typically being able to commence within a
few hours of the initial incident,” Bester concludes.

About Jet Demolition

Jet Demolition has been undertaking
industrial demolition works since 1994, and is the leading, largest, and most
technically-advanced demolition company in Africa. It offers in-house,
full-range demolition services, including advanced mechanical solutions and
controlled implosions. It actively pursues ongoing development of skills and
equipment suited to the changing needs of the industry.

More
information from Rashree Maharaj, Tel: +27(0)11 495 3800 / Email: rashree@jetdemolition.co.za / Web:
www.jetdemolition.co.za