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Engineering vehicles & heavy plant
Engineering vehicles & heavy plantDeep Foundation Equipment (Drilling/Piling Rigs)

Liebherr Drilling/Piling Rigs on Crossrail

Various Crossrail sites, London, UK · 2009-2022 (Crossrail construction period) · £18.9bn (Crossrail project total)

The judgement call

Account-gated at launch

Crossrail involved extensive deep foundation work for its numerous stations, shafts, and portals. While specific models like the LB 44 are not explicitly mentioned in public records for Crossrail, Liebherr is a major supplier of deep foundation equipment, and it is highly probable that various Liebherr drilling and piling rigs were utilized by the main contractors to execute the complex deep foundation works required for the project.

Key engineering challenges

Installing deep foundations in complex urban geology and congested environments. - Managing ground conditions and minimizing settlement in sensitive areas. - Executing various drilling and piling techniques to support underground structures.

Project facts

Client / owner
Crossrail Ltd.
Lead contractor
Various main contractors for Crossrail (e.g., BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman, Costain, Skanska, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Balfour Beatty)
Lead designers
Liebherr (for the equipment)
Project type
new build
Scale
Deep foundations for stations, shafts, and portals; various drilling and piling methods employed.
Disciplines
civil; structural; geotechnical; mechanical; tunnelling
Standards & frameworks
Eurocodes, ICE Specification for Piling and Embedded Retaining Walls, CDM Regulations.

Sources: Crossrail.co.uk (General project information) - ScienceDirect (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/crossrail) - Liebherr.com (General information on deep foundation equipment: https://www.liebherr.com/en-us/deep-foundation/deep-foundation-4424773)