News Rapid capture for 1,500-tonne bridge move

Full documentation of three day bridge installation.

A NEW £5.5m bridge was moved into its final position over the M56 during the final weekend in February – and we had a camera in place documenting the impressive feat.

Our colleagues at Aerial Images asked us to collaborate with them on this project for the Highway’s Agency by installing one of our specialist, Ultra HD time-lapse camera systems to capture the bridge being lifted.

Due to the sheer size of the structure, which is the length of a full-size football pitch, it had to be constructed by the roadside at Manchester Airport.

Above: Our camera was perfectly positioned to capture the lift and move of the assembled bridge.

The mammoth installation job that followed took place between Friday 27 February and Sunday 1 March 2015.

The Highways Agency (now Highways England) had asked Aerial Images to document the full project, which involved raising and then lowering the 1,500-tonne bridge into place.

And we were more than happy to lend our hand to the project, providing our specialist remote capture expertise for the first stage of the move. It has now been turned into this stunning audio and visual narrative.

The Manchester Evening News’ article on the video piece has been immensely popular amongst readers. And the YouTube video, uploaded by the Highways Agency, has been viewed over 5,000 times already, highlighting the importance of engaging with the public through social media.

The video has also been picked up and used by the BBC.

The interest is also unsurprising considering the amount of investment being pumped into Manchester at the moment. And we have worked on a number of projects in the Greater Manchester metropolitan county, which include:

• A long-term camera system for United Utilities, capturing the installation of underground storage tanks for the Manchester Ship Canal, near Trafford Park.
• Various retail and shop-fits, like this Star Wars Miniland display for the Legoland Discovery Centre at the Trafford Centre.
• Providing another camera system for a United Utilities project in Lostock, Bolton, for the installation of sewage treatment tanks.
• Capturing in two separate locations at Manchester Airport for Network Rail.

We would like to thank Aerial Images for asking us to work on a project that was so impressive, both visually and in sheer scale. And we look forward to continuing our work in the Manchester area as more exciting construction projects are undertaken.