RMD supports Reem Island bridges

RMD Kwikform has supplied a shoring and formwork system to the Reem Island development in Abu Dhabi, UAE for the construction of bridges on the US$ 30 billion Reem Island development.

The scheme involves the construction of some 22,000 residential units on a 6.5 km2 site some 600 m off the coast of the emirate. The bridges under construction are to span the 20 m wide canals that cross the island.

Working alongside main canal contractor Combined Group, and CCECC, a sub-contractor for the bridge project, RMD Kwikform supplied a solution designed using its 80kN Rapidshor support system and utilised both its superslim and GTX formwork.

Initially the Rapidshor system was erected in modules, which were crane handled onto the canal floor. Each leg had to be individually analysed and stress tested to ensure it was safe for casting. Once this was complete universal steel beams were installed onto the shoring to provide a strong platform to support a further upper tier of Rapidshor that was tested in the same way to cope with the complex nature of the loading.

The project has also presented unique challenges, both technically and in terms of timescale, with the 6 m deep waterway slowly filling with water during the course of the work due to the contractual obligations of the canal’s main contractor.

Work is now due to start on the development of a third bridge structure for which RMD Kwikform has supplied both designs and an equipment solution for completion. It is thought that this bridge will provide the link into a metro system that will provide an effective public transport system around the island.