On the A7 between Drachten and Groningen, near the Frieschepalen exit, a telescopic crane caught fire on Thursday morning. One lane is open towards Groningen.
The left lane on the A7 towards Groningen was cleared again on Thursday afternoon. At 20:00 the road between Drachten-Centrum and Frieschepalen will be closed again in order to recover the mobile crane. The work should last until midnight.
The crane is a 100-ton telescopic crane from the Russcher company in Staphorst. ,,Our driver was on his way to a chalet lift job, somewhere above Drachten. At full speed he had a blast. Then there’s a lot of hype, because such a tire is 1.5 meters high,” says director Derrick Russcher. “Probably the tire flew around and got hot. There is a large diesel tank nearby.
Operator unharmed
The driver is unhurt, he said. “That’s the most important thing to us.” Russcher suspects the telescopic crane is a total loss. The Kielstra Kraanverhuur company from Heerenveen takes over the lifting work for the chalets.
Traffic to the north will be diverted from the Heerenveen interchange via Zwolle onto the A32 and A28, Rijkswaterstaat reports.
Rijkswaterstaat expects the road to reopen around 11am.
