Walsh Construction—a Chicago-based general contracting, construction management and design-build firm consistently ranked among the top 15 construction firms in the country—recently rented a number of JLG 1350SJP telescoping boom lifts from ALL Aerials of Richfield, Ohio, to meet their overhead access needs on the $287 million I-90 Innerbelt Bridge project in Cleveland.
The bridge site is owned by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), and work began in spring 2011. Part of the project currently under way includes construction of a new westbound bridge over the Cuyahoga River. The new bridge will be 4,247 ft long and will stand about 120 ft over the Cuyahoga River Valley at its highest point.
The 135-ft platform height JLG 1350SJP ultra boom lifts rented by Walsh were needed to access the many overhead areas that most boom lifts could not reach. In addition to their greater working height, the 1350SJP machines featured an 80-ft horizontal reach with 1,000-lb restricted/500-lb unrestricted platform capacity. The 80-ft reach played an important role when ground-level obstacles prevented workers from positioning the machines close to the bridge piers.
The JLG 1350SJP machines also featured 360° continuous turntable rotation, 180° platform rotation and JLG’s exclusive 8-ft JibPLUS jib boom with 180° horizontal motion and 130° vertical motion. This allowed workers to reach up and over to access overhead areas.
Another important feature of the 1350SJP that increased productivity and created a safer work environment, was the standard SkyPower Package on the machines. This unique feature incorporates a 7,500-watt generator in the base of the machine with a power cable and air lines running alongside the boom to outlets in the platform. It allowed workers to use hand tools and other electric-powered devices in the platform and powered optional features like the JLG SkyWelder package, which consists of a 280-amp Miller CST 280 welder tucked into the boom platform. This conserves space in the platform and provides convenient stick and TIG capability; it also eliminates the cost of renting a stand-alone welder and power supply.
When the new westbound bridge is complete, it will be used to carry both directions of traffic while the old I-90 bridge is demolished and a new eastbound bridge is designed and built. Once the new eastbound bridge is complete in 2016, each bridge will carry five lanes of traffic. By constructing two bridges, ODOT is able to maintain traffic on I-90, a vital link that carries upwards of 140,000 vehicles per day into downtown Cleveland. R&B
