Mammoet on the job at Montréal Olympic Stadium project

The Canada East business unit of Netherlands-based crane services company Mammoet says it has been awarded a contract to support a consortium tasked with replacing the roof at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium.

Mammoet says it will work on the project with Groupe Construction Pomerleau-Canam (GCPC), a grouping of companies led by Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada-based Pomerleau and Groupe Canam, also based in Saint-Georges.

The consortium was awarded the contract to replace the existing roof at the nearly 50-year-old stadium with a new fixed structure that will have transparent glass to allow natural light into the stadium.

Mammoet says first it will provide mobile cranes to support the demolition of the existing roof. It describes the next part of its work as undertaking “a significant engineering project utilizing its most prestigious equipment to help lift and install the new canopy.”

Much of the crane services firm’s work will be managed through Mammoet’s Canada East subsidiary, based in Puslinch, Ontario, Canada, says the European firm. That subsidiary employs nearly 500 people who provide Mammoet’s heavy lifting and equipment transportation services in Ontario and Quebec.

The company says as of early March, “Significant numbers of its operational workforce and crane equipment fleet are currently on site, removing outgoing roof panels.”

“We are thrilled that Mammoet can play a key role in the renovation of this iconic stadium,” says Justin Hope, a project manager at Mammoet. “We lift heavy objects all the time, but making sure that our solution aligns with how the roof will be finally connected adds a unique dimension. This is why we came up with a custom engineering solution to perform the job.”

Comments Serge Néron, deputy project directorat at GCPC, “When seeking a partner to assist us with the lifting of the roof, we knew that we could benefit from Mammoet’s experience and engineering. Throughout the planning phase, they have demonstrated their expertise, coordinating a bespoke solution to get the new structure lifted, positioned and ready for installation.”

According to the contractors, the new roof will be built inside the stadium on temporary supports. Once completed, Mammoet will use its Mega Jack 5200 system to lift the newly built structure 50 meters (164 feet) into the air and into place.

Mammoet describes the Mega Jack as a large lifting system that uses beams loaded at ground level to “lift some of the world’s heaviest loads.” Six Mega Jack towers will be used to perform the roof lifting operation in Montréal.

Additional equipment, known as strand jacks, will be used to stabilize the roof as it is raised, according to Mammoet.

The company says it also has designed what it calls adjustment devices to sit on the top of each lifting tower. “Taking the form of miniature skidding tracks, these allow precision positioning of the roof once it is at the required height,” states Mammoet.

The roof will stay raised on the jacking system for two months, says the contractors, to allow final installation work to take place. That includes using cables to attach a 550-foot inclined tower known as La Tour de Montréal.