Three Liebherr cranes on night shift for bridge construction
- cranehub
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
– Liebherr LTM 1300-6.2 from Affolter builds wildlife bridge over motorway
– Precise planning and logistics ensure pinpoint accuracy despite tight time windows
– 50 massive timber beams weighing 20 tonnes each installed
Several wildlife crossings are currently being constructed across motorways in Switzerland. At one such new wildlife bridge on the A1 motorway near Solothurn, the Bern-based company Affolter Transporte AG recently installed massive timber beams. Due to the required temporary closure of the motorway, the operation had to be meticulously planned and executed. Over six perfectly coordinated night shifts, the 38-metre-long elements were installed on schedule.
Ehingen (Donau), Germany, 1 August 2025 – During the construction of a major wildlife crossing, crane and transport company Affolter from Schüpfen (Canton of Bern) installed the substructure of the new bridge over six nights. The key challenge in this project was the narrow time window for motorway closures, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Each night, up to ten timber beams, each three metres high and 38 metres long, had to be delivered and lifted into place. Among the equipment on the A1 motorway was the Liebherr LTM 1300-6.2 – the most powerful crane in the family-run company’s fleet. With a maximum radius of 25 metres, the six-axle crane placed its 20-tonne loads at half-hour intervals. The slightly curved timber beams span all four lanes of the motorway without intermediate supports.
Precise coordination between transport and assembly
The long timber elements were delivered from Rapperswil, around 20 kilometres away. A 20-year-old Liebherr mobile crane loaded them onto the trailers of the heavy transport vehicles at a storage site. Upon arrival at the construction site, an LTM 1160-5.2 unloaded the cargo and placed the beams into a holding frame. The larger mobile crane then hooked the bulky loads and installed the beams. The night operations ran like Swiss clockwork, ensuring the carriageways were cleared by early morning and reopened in time for rush-hour traffic. In addition to the three Liebherr cranes, Affolter deployed four tractor units and two escort vehicles each night. After just under a week, the timber structure of the bridge was completed. The finished wildlife bridge will span more than 50 metres in width.
The company, led by brothers Ernst and Rudolf Affolter, employs 45 staff across four locations in the cantons of Bern and Aargau. In addition to a city crane, the extensive fleet includes five Liebherr mobile cranes and five mobile construction cranes for lifting operations, including two Liebherr MK 88-4.1 models. In the company’s other divisions – transport, industrial relocations, and storage – numerous escort vehicles, truck-mounted cranes, mini crawler cranes, aerial work platforms, forklifts, and various special trailers are in use.
Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH is a leading manufacturer of mobile and crawler cranes. Its range of mobile cranes extends from 2-axle 35 tonne cranes to heavy duty cranes with a lifting capacity of 1200 tonnes and a 9-axle chassis. Its lattice boom cranes on mobile or crawler travel gear deliver lifting capacities of up to 3000 tonnes. With universal boom systems and extensive additional equipment, they can be seen in action on construction sites throughout the world. The Ehingen site has a workforce of 5,000. An extensive, global service network guarantees the high availability of Liebherr mobile and crawler cranes. In 2024, the Liebherr plant in Ehingen recorded a turnover of 3.19 billion euros.
The Liebherr Group is a family-run technology company with a highly diversified product programme. The company is one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers in the world. It also provides high-quality, user-oriented products and services in a wide range of other areas. The Liebherr Group includes over 150 companies across all continents. In 2024, it employed more than 50,000 staff and achieved combined revenues of over 14 billion euros. Liebherr was founded by Hans Liebherr in 1949 in the southern German town of Kirchdorf an der Iller. Since then, the employees have been pursuing the goal of achieving continuous technological innovation, and bringing industry-leading solutions to its customers.
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