The video shows Ainscough’s eight-axle Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 crane lifting steelwork for the bridge beams – 268 tonnes in total.

The steel beams, measuring 12.5 metres long, took 12 weeks to be built from cutting the plate from the rolling mill, fabrication, grit blasting and trial fitting before being transported to the project site.

The A533 Expressway Bridge is a concrete bridge that carries the Chester Road combined with the A533 over the M56 motorway, between junctions 11 and 12.

Joint venture contractor AmeySRM is replacing the existing structure with a new 67-metre span concrete bridge, consisting of a single two-lane carriageway and a combined footpath and cycleway.

National Highways project manager Sam Whitfield said: “The delivery of the bridge beams marks a key milestone for the A533 Bridge Replacement project. They are an integral part of this project, and will provide our customers with a replacement structure which is designed to last for more than 120 years. Construction of the new bridge will continue adjacent to the M56, minimising disruption to drivers and will be open for traffic next summer.”

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