Beast of Burden
The fabled “Blue Beast” got another high-profile assignment when it was tasked with both the demolition of an Ohio state route’s bridge and the construction of its replacement. The State Route 6 bridge over the Chagrin River in Lake County had reached a point where repairs would be more costly than total replacement. This portion of SR 6 is a narrow, two-lane road that cuts through thick, tall forest. The equally narrow bridge expanse overlays a sheer, 80-foot drop to the river below.
ALL Erection & Crane Rental, flagship branch of the ALL Family of Companies, worked with general contractor the Ruhlin Company, specifying a 770-ton Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 all-terrain crane as the key piece of equipment. Nicknamed the “Blue Beast” for its distinctive cobalt-blue paint job, the AT has earned a reputation for, among other things, being highly effective at bridge work in unconventional environments.
In this case, the job site was picturesque but treacherous because of the narrow passage through dense foliage and sheer drop to the water below. “The roadway on the approach is also at a 5% grade, which is very steep for cranes,” said Brian Meek, project manager for ALL Erection & Crane Rental. “Ruhlin was instrumental in creating special crane pads for the AT to sit on. We gave them our ground bearing pressures and lift diagrams and they inserted it into their engineered drawings. Their engineer put a lot of time into getting it just right.” The end result used stone and timber mats to provide adequate support for the heavy lift equipment.
The Blue Beast operated at a lift radius of 215 feet, requiring boom lengths ranging from 246 to 262 feet. It also included 319,000 pounds of counterweight.
The crane required a total of four setups because it had to move from the east side to the west side of the bridge, first for demolition of the old bridge then for construction of the replacement. “On the west side, there was even less real estate to set up because the road dropped off on both the left and right sides,” said Meek. “We used Liebherr’s Vario Base to reduce the outriggers and narrow our footprint and also swung the boom so we were working over the rear of the AT.”
Vario Base is Liebherr’s technology that allows each outrigger to be set to an individual position, enabling greater flexibility in where a crane can set up.
For the new bridge construction, the crane was lifting steel bridge beams ranging in weight from 15,000 pounds to 28,000 pounds – again, at a long radius of 215 feet.
To provide occasional assistance, ALL specified a second crane, a 120-ton Liebherr LTM 1100-5.2 AT, which was set up on the narrow riverbank below.
“During the demolition process, because of the bridge height, there was no way for Ruhlin’s crews to cut the existing beams from an arial lift,” said Meek. “So, the 120-ton crane was outfitted with a man basket. While the 1650 held the old beams in place from above, the crew was able to cut them loose.”
During construction of the new bridge, the 1650 would sometimes hand off beams to the 1100. “The 1650 would send the beam out over the two piers, the crew would attach the 120, and both cranes would lift and hoist beams to get out to a further radius,” said Meek.
Demolition work occurred last spring. Both cranes returned in mid-summer to assist with construction of the new bridge, which is scheduled to open in the fall.
About ALL
The ALL Family of Companies is the largest privately held crane rental and sales operation in North America, operating under the ALL, ALT, Central, Dawes, and Jeffers names. For a rental quote: 800-232-4100 or www.allcrane.com.