News

Goodbye Poseidon

For many months, the blue mechanical colossus better known as Poseidon was an integral fixture of the Île-des-Sœurs area’s west approach operations.  It served as one of the most visible and sophisticated instruments of the maritime activities for the new Champlain Bridge.

Its mission accomplished, the floating foundation installer (FFI), designed by Belgian firm Sarens, will now be calling it a day, having positioned its final foundation on the riverbed.

Sarens Heavy lifting and Transport Specialist Hugo Saua, explains how the lifting apparatus will be dismantled: “We have taken down pieces of its upper portion, such as the rotation system. Next, the vertical towers and their connecting girders will come down. Then comes the lower portion, including the floaters, the floor and their various components. Within weeks, all of the parts will be put away, and there will be nothing left of the FFI.”

Alexandre Clouthier, Area Manager for the west approach, reports that Poseidon lived up to expectations: “Design of the FFI began in August 2015, when the west jetty was not fully built and current conditions were different. Less than a year later, in July 2016, Poseidon was navigating on the water, putting the very first foundation in place with surgical accuracy. The operation was a tremendous success, thanks to constant cooperation between SSL and Sarens.”

In all, it will take more than 75 trucks to transport the dismantled Poseidon to a port outside Montreal. Once across the Atlantic Ocean, certain pieces of the FFI will be reusable on other large-scale infrastructure projects around the world.

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