[Job Story] Potain Cranes at Work on the Major Mumbai-Pune Expressway Bridge

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway is one of India’s main highways, but heavy traffic volumes continue to put pressure on its capacity. To ease congestion, the Maharashtra State Development Corporation is building a new bypass as part of the Missing Link project, which also includes the large cable-stayed bridge at Lonavala.

At the heart of the construction work are four Potain MCT 385 tower cranes, one for each of the bridge’s four pylons. The machines are owned by Afcons Infrastructure, the main contractor for the project, and were supplied by the company’s Construction, Plant, and Equipment (CPE) division.

On site, the Potain MCT 385 cranes are being used for a range of high-precision operations, from positioning hanging brackets and lifting cable-stay pipes to concrete pouring and handling other structural components. The cranes, with a lifting capacity of 20 t, are working with 50 m jibs and are installed at hook heights ranging from 175 m to 190 m.

“The Potain MCT 385 cranes are well-suited to the requirements of this project. Their reliability and performance have supported consistent progress on a technically demanding site,”

Said Al Amin, deputy general manager of Afcons Infrastructure CPE.

Since entering service in 2022, the four Potain cranes have maintained an average uptime of 98%. This result has also been supported by Manitowoc’s parts and service assistance, which has helped minimise downtime despite the complexity of the site and the significant working heights involved.

“From handling large structural components to performing detailed lifting work at height, these cranes have met the project’s operational needs. The service support has also contributed to smooth execution on site,”

Said Gangadhar Jha, manager of Afcons Infrastructure CPE.

The site is also supported by Manitowoc crawler cranes and Grove mobile cranes, which provide complementary lifting capabilities for this complex infrastructure project. On the Missing Link project, the Potain MCT 385 cranes confirm the value of an already proven model, capable of delivering consistently even in a complex infrastructure environment.

Their operation is supported both by the crane’s design and by Manitowoc’s local team in India. Meanwhile, Potain’s Asian tower crane range has evolved with the new MCT 385A L20, an updated version that introduces several improvements over the original model.

[Job Story] Potain Cranes at Work on the Major Mumbai-Pune Expressway Bridge published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.