Fork Lifts
A major phase of construction along Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania is now underway as crews have begun rebuilding the North Fork bridges. The project to replace two aging structures brings together complex logistics and heavy lift equipment led by one of the largest crawler cranes in the region.
The existing bridges in Jefferson County, one eastbound and one westbound, are being completely reconstructed, with Amelie Construction handling steel erection. A massive crawler crane from ALL Crane Rental of Pennsylvania, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, is the key piece of equipment for the project.
The 660-ton Manitowoc 18000 will be on site for several months performing lifts and also helping to assemble bridge components on the ground. “It’s doing it all,” said Scott Meyer, owner and project manager at Amelie Construction and Supply.
At ground level, the crane is moving materials to construct boxed pair bridge beams, which Meyer calls “double doubles.”
“We take four girders and first splice them into two longer segments. Next, we put all four together, and add cross frames and wind bracing,” said Meyer. “Then the 18000 lifts all of that as a unit—basically four girders at a time—and places it into position.”
Once assembled, each boxed unit weighs 321,000 pounds, which the 18000 is able to single-pick due to its massive capacity. The bridge is 120 feet above the level, so the crane is configured with 180 feet of main boom. It has maximum counterweight and is picking at a maximum radius of 80 feet.
The capacity of the 18000 enables it to walk with the load so lifting can occur within the prescribed radius. “The 18000 was built for a job like this,” said Keith Duell, sales representative with ALL Crane Rental of Pennsylvania. “It can transport heavy materials like the assembled boxed pairs and move around a variety of job sites, even with rough terrain.”
Amelie has put down 200 double-stacked crane mats throughout each setup site to give the crane plenty of room to move.
In all, there are 80 total girders being assembled into 20 four-girder units. “It takes approximately one week to assemble each boxed pair, between offloading the individua girders, splicing them, putting the cross frames in, putting the wind bracing in, and erecting them,” said Meyer.
Curiously, the 18000 wasn’t originally supposed to be on this job. A different Manitowoc crawler, an MLC650 with VPC-MAX, was originally specified. However, it is working on a concurrent project Amelie has with ALL. Instead, another crawler with extra-high capacity, the Manitowoc 18000, was drawn from the ALL Family’s broad fleet. An all-terrain crane also from ALL, a 550-ton Liebherr LTM 1450-8.1 was previously used to construct the bridge abutments.
By the time both I-80 North Fork bridges are reconstructed, the Manitowoc 18000 will have been on site for nearly five months.
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.