Meeting in the Middle

Even a seemingly modest bridge can serve many functions. Take the Main Street bridge over French Creek in Saegertown, Pa. It’s also known as U.S. 19, State Route 6, and the Grand Army of the Republic Highway. When the time came to replace it with a new 368-foot steel structure, ALL Crane Rental of Pennsylvania, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, was contracted to provide heavy lift equipment to assist Mekis Construction, the general contractor for PennDOT.

ALL delivered two all-terrain cranes to the site to perform a series of unusual tandem picks. They were unusual in the sense that each crane was single-picking its own steel girder … but crane operators had to move in unison and place their beams simultaneously so ironworkers could splice them together in mid-air.

“The beams met in the middle, partially resting on the bridge pier,” said Mark Damich Jr., sales representative with ALL Crane Rental of Pennsylvania. “Each crane remained rigged up to its respective beam and held the bulk of the weight as ironworkers completed their splices.”

A 550-ton Liebherr 1450-8.1 was set up at the south abutment. It was configured with 139 feet of main boom picking at a 120-foot radius and full counterweight. On the north side, Mekis had to construct a causeway so ALL’s 360-ton Liebherr LTM 1300-6.2 could drive down to the water’s edge and still make the necessary picks. It was configured with 144 feet of main boom picking at an 80-foot radius, also with full counterweight.

“We didn’t have the setup room on the north side,” said Damich. “The creek is less than two feet deep this time of year, so creating a stable, temporary causeway was a viable solution to enable us to complete the job with a mid-size AT.”

Each crane picked its girder—actually a segment of what would be joined into one girder—from a flatbed on its own side of the creek. The 1450’s girder weighed 56,000 pounds; the 1300’s weighed 44,000 pounds. Once hooked, each operator swung 180 degrees to lightly set one end of its segment onto the pier. It held the weight for one to two hours as the splice was completed.

ALL’s AT operators executed the moves five times over the three-day project.

“The team at Mekis fabricated pipe and ladders with scaffolding on each side for the ironworkers to climb and tie onto with safety harnesses as they put the bolts in,” said Damich. “Our branch has enjoyed a long relationship with Mekis. Project superintendent Logan Caldwell and vice president of operations Tyler Caldwell encourage a collaborative approach that gets the best work out of everyone.”

The new two-lane bridge has 11-foot travel lanes and 5-foot shoulders. The project also included upgrades to the guardrail and placing rock to stabilize roadside slopes.

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.