VIDEO: Italdraghe amphibious undercarriage and BD1 pump at work on Lake Trasimeno

A major marina maintenance dredging project, awaited for 23 years, is now underway on Lake Trasimeno – the fourth largest lake in Italy.

At the Sant’Arcangelo di Magione marina, a hydraulic excavator equipped with an Italdraghe CA200 amphibious undercarriage and fitted with an Italdraghe BD1 submersible dredging pump is currently in operation.

The machine was specifically configured to tackle the lake’s challenging operating conditions, characterized by shallow water levels, muddy bottoms and ground with extremely low bearing capacity, Italdraghe said.

The Italdraghe CA amphibious undercarriage enables the excavator to travel and operate safely and efficiently on surfaces with low bearing capacity, such as marshland, wetlands, flooded areas, muddy bottoms and shallow water.

Its extra-wide undercarriage provide an extended contact surface, distributing the machine’s weight more evenly and significantly reducing ground pressure while improving stability, mobility and maneuverability.

This feature allows the machine to reach areas where a conventional excavator would risk sinking, losing traction or becoming unable to maneuver effectively, enabling it to operate even under particularly challenging conditions, Italdraghe said.

In deeper water, the amphibious undercarriage is equipped with side pontoons and stabilizing spuds, further extending its range of applications and increasing stability during operations.

For the Lake Trasimeno project, the BD1 submersible dredging pump is installed directly on the excavator arm, allowing it to work close to the sediment and combine material loosening and pumping in a single operation.

At this job site, the dredged slurry was initially discharged through a free-delivery nozzle. In the following days, a discharge pipeline was installed to convey the dredged material to the designated discharge point.

Also, the arm-mounted configuration provides a wide operating range and precise control, including in confined areas or at difficult working angles.

The Lake Trasimeno project shows how dredging equipment can be configured around the actual conditions of a specific site, Italdraghe concluded.