Cranes part of I-4 "Ultimate" highway improvement project in Florida

Central Florida’s Interstate 4 (I-4) highway is undergoing a multiyear, $2.3 billion rehabilitation project along a 21-mile stretch in Orange and Seminole counties. Originally completed in 1965, the “Orlando Expressway” has received much more traffic than it was originally meant to handle. Dubbed “I-4 Ultimate,” the improvement project includes widening 13 bridges, replacing 74 existing bridges, and building 53 new ones.

ALL Sunshine Crane Rental Corp. of Florida, a member of the ALL Family of Companies, has provided cranes and operators for several of the bridge construction projects since work began in 2015 and continues to assist as needed. With one of the largest privately held fleets in the country, ALL has the large volume and range of cranes and other lifting equipment necessary for massive projects like this one. ALL Sunshine was brought in as a subcontractor for SGL, a joint venture formed for this project (Skanska Infrastructure Limited, Granite Construction Incorporated and Lane Construction Corporation).

In January, cranes from ALL assisted with erecting bridge beams for I-4 lane expansions at the New Hampshire Street overpass in Orange County, just north of downtown Orlando. The highway will be 70% wider when complete, with toll lanes down the middle. This necessitates an overpass bridge being rebuilt. ALL delivered a Grove GMK5275 all-terrain crane (275 USt/220 t) equipped with 120 ft of main boom, accompanied by a skilled operator, to handle the lifting and setting of seven steel beams for the new bridge. Each 70-ft-long steel beam weighed with rigging weighed a total load of 63,709 lb per beam. The GMK5275 is exceptionally well suited for bridge construction work, able to handle lifts at a high capacity while maintaining the ability to swing and set at a complete 360-degree radius. With an available 223-ft, seven-section full-power boom and with luffing jib attached, this AT can lift loads up to 354 ft high.

Traffic on New Hampshire Street was closed during the single-night beam construction, but maintained on I-4 because the lane-widening project allowed for a buffer space between car traffic and the construction zone. The seven beams were lifted and set in a proficient fashion and ALL Sunshine will be ready for the next call from SGL.

Whether it is multiple cranes for a multiyear project, or the “ultimate” AT for a one-day job, the ALL Family of Companies is able to deliver not just cranes, but value—a range of well-maintained equipment, highly trained operators, and decades