PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
Deep Foundations
Work Goes Electric
First application of global innovation
It is a trouble spot in the western Austria road network:
the Bludenz-Bürs junction of the A14 motorway. There
are frequent traffic jams and delays due to congestion. To
avoid dangerous tailbacks on the motorway, by the end of
2021 ASFiNAG – a publicly owned Austrian corporation which
plans, finances, builds, maintains and collects tolls for the
Austrian autobahns – is to build a large roundabout with two
bridges over the A14, as well as two new connections to regional
roads, also with a roundabout and water protection facility.
The local company i+R is carrying out the deep foundation
work on the west side and will use the world’s first drill rig on
the market with “Local Zero Emission.” The LB 16 unplugged,
recently launched by Liebherr, has an electro-hydraulic drive
concept and can also be used cable-free thanks to the battery,
hence “unplugged.”
The challenge
Certainly aware of corporate responsibility for the environment
and society, the alternative drive concept has been well
received by the customer. “Sustainability in the construction
industry is not a foreign concept, but common practice for
ASFiNAG. Innovative developments like the world’s first
drilling rig with zero emissions show that also on ASFiNAG
construction sites there is enough room for environmentallyfriendly
construction practices,” said Andreas Fromm,
managing director of ASFiNAG Bau Management GmbH.
The challenges for i+R are the narrow construction site
itself, as well as the restricted working height. The pile
foundations must be placed directly under a power line.
Therefore, the drill rig is designed as a low head with a
shorter lead. During the project i+R is installing 148 piles and
Submitted by Liebherr
PHOTO: LIEBHERR
PILING CANADA 21