BECT Ltd
Special construction equipment · FT / BB

Overhead Form Traveller

A self-launching form traveller for cast-in-situ balanced cantilever construction, carrying its formwork from a frame above the deck. It suits shorter segments and shorter hammerhead pier segments.

Discuss your projectOverhead or underslung?
Overhead form traveller at a bridge pier, its main truss girders carried above two levels of working platform and formwork.
Overhead form traveller supported on girders above the deck during balanced-cantilever construction.

Key specifications

Segment length
3–7 mOptimised for shorter segments
Segment weight
100–450 tIncluding formwork and concrete
Launching
Self-launchingForward and backward movement
Pier segments
From 5 mHammerhead pier segments
Overview

What an overhead form traveller does

In cast-in-situ bridge construction, the overhead form traveller builds the deck by the balanced cantilever method. The traveller structure is carried on girders above the deck, and the formwork is suspended from that frame. The arrangement suits shorter segments, and it handles hammerhead pier segments with lengths as short as 5 m.

Each traveller is engineered around the specific bridge design and its load conditions rather than supplied to a fixed standard. The equipment is designed for precision and safety, and to minimise the structural stress imposed while a segment is being cast.

Applications

Applications and construction method

The construction method is cast-in-situ balanced cantilever. The overhead configuration is selected where segments are shorter, and where hammerhead pier segments are short enough to need a traveller that can work from 5 m.

Suitable structures and situations

  • Cast-in-situ balanced cantilever
  • Shorter segments, 3–7 m
  • Hammerhead pier segments from 5 m
  • Heavier segments, to 450 t
  • A range of bridge construction methods
Capability

Ranges, capacity and design considerations

Segment range and capacity

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Segment range and lifting capacity.
Segment length 3–7 m
Segment weight 100–450 t, including formwork and concrete
Shortest pier segment From 5 m, hammerhead
Launching movement Self-launching, forward and backward

Advantages and design considerations

  • Suited to shorter segments

    Accommodates segment lengths of 3–7 m, giving adaptability across a range of bridge designs.

  • Load capacity

    Supports segment weights from 100 to 450 t, including formwork and concrete.

  • Short hammerhead pier segments

    Works with hammerhead pier segments as short as 5 m, where a longer traveller would not fit.

  • Self-launching operation

    Automated forward and backward movement reduces downtime between casting cycles.

  • Structural stability

    Engineered for precision and safety, minimising the structural stress imposed while a segment is cast.

  • Programme duration

    Reduces construction time while maintaining the required safety standards.

Configuration

Overhead compared with underslung

Both configurations build by cast-in-situ balanced cantilever and both are self-launching. They differ in segment range, weight range, and where the traveller structure sits relative to the deck.

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Overhead and underslung configurations compared.
Property Overhead Underslung
Segment length 3–7 m 7–10 m
Segment weight 100–450 t 50–450 t
Shortest pier segment From 5 m (hammerhead) Not specified
Clearance above formwork Not specified Unobstructed
Self-launching Yes, forward and backward Yes, forward and backward
Particularly suited to Shorter hammerhead pier segments Cable-stayed and arch bridges; prefabricated steel cages
Underslung form traveller
Gallery

Overhead and balanced-cantilever form traveller installations, showing the traveller frame, working platforms and formwork in position.

Overhead form traveller frame spanning across a pier head, with vertical formwork panels hung on both sides.
Traveller frame carried across the pier head, with segment formwork suspended each side.
Two overhead form travellers cantilevered from opposite sides of a single pier, with access platforms at deck level.
Travellers set up each side of a pier for symmetrical cantilever construction.
Balanced-cantilever deck advancing symmetrically from a single pier over water, a traveller working at each end.
Symmetrical balanced-cantilever construction from a pier, one traveller advancing each way.
Overhead form traveller positioned at the leading end of a curved concrete deck, with working platforms below the frame.
Traveller at the leading end of a curved deck, working platforms slung beneath the frame.
Overhead form traveller at the end of a cantilever on a tall multi-span viaduct supported on slender piers.
Traveller working at the cantilever tip on a tall multi-span viaduct.
Form traveller and timber-faced formwork set on a pier head, with a second pier prepared alongside.
Traveller and pier-head formwork in position before casting the next segment.
Two form travellers on adjoining cantilevers advancing towards one another, with suspended working platforms and safety screening.
Adjoining cantilevers advancing towards closure, a traveller on each.
Underside view of a hammerhead pier segment showing the soffit formwork, bracing and access stair of the traveller.
Soffit formwork and bracing beneath a hammerhead pier segment.
Underside view of a hammerhead pier segment showing the soffit formwork, bracing and access stair of the traveller.
Backwards self-launching after completion.
Related
Underslung Form Traveller Segments 7–10 m · 50–450 t Movable Scaffolding Systems Spans 20–70 m Launching Gantries Minimum curvature radius 75–100 m Segment Lifters 100–900 t · 2–25 m
All special construction equipment
Get in touch

Discuss your form traveller requirement

Tell us the span arrangement, segment geometry and programme, and our team will respond to your enquiry.

Send a project enquiryinfo@bectltd.com