Viaduct decks for

The viaducts are constructed by launching gantries, ground support, or by balanced cantilever methods.

Adnan Al Hammadi, director of Rail Projects Construction said, “So far, the number of segments installed has reached 2,500, representing around 270 spans, with new spans being installed at an average rate of two spans per week per launching gantry. The viaduct spans are supported on concrete piers and founded on piles. A total of 890 (85 per cent) piers have been constructed so far and 1,300 (95 per cent) piles have been installed for the viaducts to date.”

Launching gantries are used for a majority of the viaduct construction and provide a fast-track installation process which enables the installation of a complete viaduct span in roughly two days.

Concrete segments are transported, on demand, from Jebel Ali Casting Yard to the launching gantry sites using heavy haulage trucks.

The eight launching gantries being used are strategically distributed at various locations on the Red Line.

The launching gantries comprise two steel box girders connected together by steel frames.

They are around 100m long and weigh 105 tonnes each. They are equipped with their own lifting winch, and power and control equipment to enable lifting and moving of the heavy concrete segments accurately into position.

There will be around 12,000 pre-cast concrete viaduct deck segments used for the Red Line, each weighing in excess of 50 tonnes.

The viaduct deck segments typically measure 10 metres wide and 4 metres long. The length of the spans varies between 24 and 72 metres, where the minimum number of segments per span is 8 and the maximum is 18.