The machine will be used to build 19 spans of viaducts for the approaches to the new cable-stayed crossing of the Mersey Estuary.
It has filled 90 shipping containers and will take between three and four months to construct. When fully assembled, it will be 157m long, 8m high and measure 22m at its widest point.
Operation will begin in early autumn. It will act as a concrete mould for the deck of the approach viaducts, which will be constructed in spans approximately 70m in length and over 18m wide.
It will begin at the north side, where 11 piers need to be connected, before being dismantled and transported to Runcorn to begin work across the nine piers of the southern approach.
Merseylink engineers worked with Norwegian company NRS to design the MSS. It took six months to refine the design and a further five months for the machine to be manufactured in China before being shipped to the UK. Portuguese subcontractor ConstruGomes will operate the MSS on site.
The MSS is expected to be on site until autumn 2016. Once the work on the approach viaducts is complete it will be dismantled and recycled.
