SAC2500E sets 45-tonne steel bridge in Italy’s Cismon Valley

The lift

The all-terrain crane was used in October 2024 to lift and position a steel bridge span in the Cismon Valley, in the Trentino region of northern Italy. The span measures 35 metres and weighs 45.2 tonnes, and forms part of a wider reorganisation of the road network around Passo Rolle.

The site sits alongside the SS50 with views over the south-eastern Dolomites, which gives some idea of the working conditions: high ground, snow-covered peaks and persistent wind, on a road corridor with limited space to set up a 250-tonne machine.

Why the road matters

The new bridge links the Grappa National Road 50 with the surrounding valleys and is intended to improve connectivity and safety in an area regularly cut off by avalanches during the winter. The scheme, due for completion in 2025, also includes a wildlife underpass so that the road can be integrated into the surrounding environment.

CRISTELL selected the SAC2500E for the placement on the strength of its lifting capacity and its ability to work in the confined, uneven ground conditions typical of alpine road projects. Bridge spans of this size are routine work for a 250-tonne class all-terrain on level ground; the difficulty here lay in access, set-up and weather windows rather than in the load itself.

Alpine road work

Steel bridge spans are increasingly favoured for replacement crossings on mountain roads because a span can be fabricated off site and set in a single shift, keeping the road closure short. That approach shifts the risk onto the lift itself: the crane has to be rigged, the load flown and the span landed inside whatever weather window the mountain allows, which is why a machine that can travel and set up quickly is worth more here than pure capacity.