Heavy mechanized bridge ERE Logistics Scissor
The Canadian company ERE Logistics, previously not practicing such products, based in Calgary, has mastered the production of heavy mechanized bridges. These bridges are designed for both military and civilian use.
Richard Richter, President of ERE Logistics, has long been known as a lover of military equipment. Not only did he work on vehicles such as the Army Hammer, 8 × 8 and 10 × 10 trucks, he also owned the decommissioned a tank Chieftain and M113 armored personnel carrier, which required constant maintenance!
In 2006, the company ERE Firesupport (builder of off-road machines for extinguishing forest fires), faced with a situation when it was vital to mechanized bridges. Most of the fire extinguishing ERE Firesupport performed at the foot of the Rocky Mountains (Rocky Mountain) in Canada, where often impassable terrain required many hours of detours rather than just a few kilometers in a straight line.
Thus, the idea to create a reliable mobile mechanized bridge that would allow them to cross a mountain stream or other rugged terrain, saving hours of precious time and deliver the necessary equipment, was born in Richard’s head. He had excellent conditions for the implementation of this project, technological knowledge and the determination to follow to the end, as well as the help of his father Eric Richter (Erich Richter). Thus began the mechanized bridge ERE S80T. Based on military knowledge and experience with military equipment, Richard came to the conclusion that the Flatrack system would be an ideal universal platform for storing, transporting and deploying a bridge.
Among other things, the bridge was required to be compact during transportation and quickly deployable. Having considered several options, he rather quickly stopped at the opening bridges using the “scissors” technology. This allows you to quickly expand the bridge by adding section by section and is perfect for compact storage and convenient transportation. After just a few months of development, the first test model of the 60 and Tonny Bridge ERE S80T was ready for production. Despite some flaws and omissions, the tests of the first model showed high efficiency of the bridge.
The 12-meter bridge has a width of 4.3 meter and comes complete with handrails for pedestrian traffic. The time required for installation and preparation for full use is only 30 minutes, which is not an outstanding today as compared to some of the armored bridge laying machines, but additional lengthening can be used here. Armored bridge houses usually have one section (between supports) and can be installed over a period of four to five minutes.
ERE S80T can add additional sections one by one to the bridge. Thus, the 120-meter bridge can be built in about five hours, which armored bridge-laying machines cannot do. Recently, additional improvements have been introduced that made the bridge even better. The load capacity was increased to 90 tons, the original 3.5 meter supports were replaced with 10-meter meters, allowing for large crossings across rivers or deep ravines.
The bridge consists of three components: the bridge itself, the stacker and the supports. Compatible with the Flatrack system, the mechanized bridge is designed to work with many military and commercial vehicles. It is the design under the Flatrack that makes the bridge so attractive. Now you no longer need a separate vehicle to build a bridge, but you can simply use the appropriate vehicle from the fleet, load the system, deliver it and deploy it where necessary. Moreover, when necessary, the bridge can be delivered directly from the warehouse, it can be transported by truck or even by air in emergency situations.
Since the bridge is guided with hydraulics, it takes only a small team of four to install and lock everything in place. During emergencies, this will allow additional personnel to concentrate on their duties while bridge builders bridge the bridge.
Performance characteristics of ERE S90T
dimensions
In the transport state: length 6.1м, width 3.3м
In the unfolded state: length 12.2м, width 4.4м
Maximum length of the bridge being erected: more than 500 m
Maximum height: 10m
Maximum water obstacle depth: 4.7
Maximum load: 90 tons
Span weight: 5.2 tons
Flooring
Width: two over 1.5
Span: 12 / 24 / 36 m
Deployment time: less than 55 minutes
Information