Jesus Lock, Cambridge.

Published on Wed 29 Jul 2009

Jesus Lock, on the River Cam in the heart of Cambridge was the setting for URW706’s latest escapade.   Leaky lock gates were due for renewal and our customer saw the mini crane’s potential to reduce the disruption to locals. 

It’s always a challenge to use heavy machinery in a restricted working space within an area of natural beauty.  But JT Mini Cranes have the answer with the 706; weighing in at just under 8 tonnes and being only 1600mm wide it’s the largest of the mini cranes yet still small enough to fit down a pathway made for 2!

To complete the replacement of lock gates with a normal truck mounted mobile crane would have caused major disruption to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike as the busy ring road would have been closed for the day!  However, only a small section of the footpath beside the lock and the neighbouring footbridge were closed for the morning as a health and safety precaution to protect passers by.

The mini crane range is perfect for working in confined spaces and can be controlled remotely where a better view of the load is needed, in this instance the lock gates needed to be lowered into the lock and secured below the eye level of the crane driver.   The remote control gave the driver (centre) the extra flexibility of being up close to where the work was going on – over seeing and making adjustments to the positioning as instructed by the fitters.  

With the lock gates securely in position the path was re-opened and it was business as usual for all!  See more pictures of this job in our gallery.