Hummel Park is the jewel of Guilford Township near Plainfield, Indiana. A recent addition to the scenic environs brings a historical flair, with installation of a vintage camelback truss bridge dating to the early 20th century. Much of the original steel was retained, augmented with new floor beams and stringers, and given a spiffy new blue paintjob for its second life as a pedestrian bridge.

“We estimate this bridge was built around 1905, taking it back to the days of horse-drawn carriages and the earliest automobiles,” said Nick Lange, senior project manager for Beaty Construction.

Setting the newly refurbished bridge in place was done with a running clock, as the operation had to be completed before the township’s Fourth of July weekend celebration started.

So there was an added sense of urgency when three cranes descended on the park just two days before Independence Day to perform the complex lift. It involved three cranes and included a mid-lift hand-off. All work needed to be finished—and all equipment cleared away—by the following afternoon, the beginning of the weekend-long community celebration. 

Central Rent-A-Crane, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, provided two stout all-terrain cranes to Beaty Construction. A 770-ton Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 and 550-ton Liebherr LTM 1450-8.1 from Central joined Beaty’s own Link-Belt 218 HSL to complete the lift. “The park itself dictated the need for a lift with a hand-off,” said Dathon Lawler, estimator at Central Rent-A-Crane. “Between the creek, nearby trees and trails, and need to quickly disassemble after completion, it was the best way to accomplish the objective.”

The new bridge spans White Lick Creek to link the east and west sides of the park. The roughly 190-foot steel structure is intended for foot traffic, but at 14-feet wide is also large enough to accommodate park vehicles and equipment.

The bridge, weighing just under 150,000 pounds, was assembled on the ground prior to the cranes’ arrival. On lift day, with the assembled structure resting on the east side of the creek, Central’s Liebherr LTM 1450-8.1 and Beaty’s Link-Belt 218 HSL rigged to it first. Lift operations required the Link-Belt crawler to walk its end approximately 100 feet forward as the Liebherr AT, configured with 122 feet of main boom and 295,000 pounds of counterweight, swung its end over the creek.

At that point, the crawler rested its end on temporary blocking while the other end was suspended over the creek.

The Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1, with 133 feet of main boom and 363,800 pounds of counterweight, was set up on the West side. After it boomed across the creek, it was rigged to the near end of the bridge. At that point, the other AT disconnected from that same end, swung toward the resting end, and was rigged to the bridge there. Dual picking resumed, now with the two Liebherr ATs.

“We brought the bridge to rest on two concrete abutments and Beaty’s crew began making the connections,” said Lawler.

“The total operation took approximately two hours,” said Lange. “It was a unique lifting scenario for a bridge with a unique background.” Nearly a dozen people from the Beaty team, working with the team at Central, made it happen.

In the end, the bridge installation worked like passing the baton—while symbolically passing the bridge onto its new life in the 21st century. The load changed hands without missing a beat, thanks to detailed planning and close coordination. The carefully choreographed sequence allowed the crew to overcome the site’s constraints while keeping the project on schedule.

Central’s cranes arrived at the park and were assembled by July 1, with the lift scheduled for first thing in the morning on Thursday, July 2. Cranes were disassembled at removed from the site during the day on July 3, and holiday-related events began that evening.

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.