GLOBAL NEWS
KAZAKHSTAN:
LONGEST HAUL EVER
Extensive preparations began six months in advance of the
abnormal load transportation, which would move the OOG
items from Bautino port to a steel plant in Temirtau. ALE had
to liaise with various local authorities to plan the most efficient
route. As well as the need to survey the route and complete
the engineering calculations necessary to negotiate overhead
obstacles and large structures like roundabouts, more than 100
bridges required inspection. The super heavy transport included
items weighing up to 150t and a few bridges were found to be
unsuitable for use. Where possible, bridges were reinforced, but
some needed to be avoided completely and to that, the most
cost-effective methods were utilised, building temporary side
roads to bypass structures.
A specialist transport services group has recently completed the
furthest land transportation in Kazakhstan ever. ALE completed
the complex 3400km transportation of five Out of Gauge (OOG)
items, each measuring up to 42m long, in 75 days. One of the
biggest challenges was the difficult terrain and complex route.
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ALE completed the complex 3400km transportation of five Out of
Gauge (OOG) items, each measuring up to 42m long, in 75 days.
The in-depth planning ensured the route could be negotiated
in the most effective way possible. ALE’s specialist heavy
haulage transport equipment enabled them to overcome the
demanding roads on the route, which included gradients of up
to 14%. The vastness of the route meant it covered both rural
and urban areas, and, so as to minimise disruption, the urban
sections of the journey were planned to take place overnight.
Temperatures dropped to -30°, creating icy road conditions.
ALE’s scope began at the port, where they used a new 750t
capacity crawler crane alongside two others to unload the items
from several vessels onto waiting trailers. Drawing on their
extensive equipment fleet, up to 26 axle lines of SPT were used
to transport each OOG item. Cost were reduced substantially by
performing the transportation in a single convoy.
The items had to be transported in minus 30-degree temperatures.
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African Mining
African Mining October 2019
15