There were no wild outbursts, high-fives or displays of emotion. The most the achievement received from the mixed nationality crew was a thumbs-up and mutually respectful nods indicating another job professionally done. They had already successfully completed this sort of operation many times before as part of the flyover construction contracts that Jeddah’s Baladia have initiated to ease the city’s traffic flow.

The beam came to rest after a journey from Huta Hegerfeld’s Concrete Precast yard facility at Dhahban, 50 km north of Jeddah. It was there the huge box section beam, one of many that span the city’s roads and provide support to the road surface high above congested junctions, was cast and cured. The dimensions have to be precise; a matter of millimeters over its 38 meters, for it must fit exactly on the pillars being constructed far south to receive it.

Transported on tractor and double trailer unit, the vast beams were held at the northern checkpoint outside the city until midnight before being allowed in to the work site when night traffic was at its minimum.

Removing the beams from the trailers and placing them exactly on the marks is a skill that when practiced with the levels of experience the two crane operators showed on Wednesday looks deceptively simple. However, there are many hurdles, any of which could cause problems. A slight imbalance, differential lift rates from the two cranes, even a gust of wind and the momentum of that mass could crush a man like a fly.

Two 500-ton Liebherr mobile cranes 40 meters apart lifted the beam in tandem. Keeping it parallel to the ground and turning it 35 degrees to pass through that gap between the massive jibs took a delicacy of touch and coordination that seemed almost impossible. Yet through it went, guided only by the hand-signals of the lift-masters perched high on the pillars where the beams were finally to rest.

As the huge concrete beams slowly settled through the last few centimeters of their journey, it was impossible not to wonder at the millimeter-perfect placement by the crane drivers, neither of whom could see the final resting place. The huge power of the two cranes maneuvered the beams through the last five centimeters almost imperceptibly slowly; the precision and sophistication of the hydraulics, engineering and sheer human skill needed to achieve that subtlety of movement was almost incredible.

Far below, hawk-eyed project manager Mohammed Abdul Naseer and site construction manager Mustafa Ibrahim Khaddar were extremely vigilant. While the lift went perfectly, safety issues are always the first priority when working on construction sites, and the responsibility lay with them. When playing with 150-ton lumps of concrete suspended 8 meters in the air, the potential for disaster is multiplied hugely.

They need not have worried; the well-practiced lift and placement team settled the beam, packed up the tools and equipment and departed the site.

A few hours later Jeddah woke up and probably did not even notice another step successfully completed in its gradually improving road infrastructure. Hope you slept well!