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By: Tammy Boone |
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Erecting the 120-foot long 135,000-pound precast concrete bulb-tee girders on the Garvey Avenue bridge replacement over Rio Hondo Channel was always going to be a tough challenge. Restricted access for cranes and transporters and severe restraints on traffic disruption limited the options available.
“Some ingenious planning was required,” says Mr. Crane’s New Zealand-born Lift Engineer, Selwyn Rabbits, “but the real key to erecting the girders safely and efficiently was our 500-ton Liebherr LTM 1400-7.1 All-Terrain hydraulic crane.
“This crane has amazing capacities and, in this instance configured with 152 feet of Y-Guyed main boom and the maximum 308,000 pounds of counterweight, we were able to handle the girders as a single crane lift,” Selwyn continues. “This helped tremendously with the access problems. Furthermore, we saved considerable time being able to move the crane fully rigged between the eight different spans that we were erecting. As some of these moves were backwards and forwards under the existing bridge, days rather than minutes would have been required had we tried to use a conventional or crawler crane.”
The existing four-lane Garvey Avenue Bridge—which spans the Rio Hondo Channel in Rosemead—was built in 1973 and measures 655 feet in length. When completed, the new bridge will be six lanes and span a distance of only 420 feet because it has been designed to eliminate unnecessary structural length the original bridge had. Phase One of the project included widening the existing lanes on the outside of the bridge. This involved erecting four spans of three girders on each side of the bridge (24 girders in total). This work was completed in May. Phase Two of the project will involve demolishing the existing structure in-between the new lanes and erecting in its place four spans of seven girders each (28 girders in total). This work is scheduled for September. Reyes Construction is the General Contractor for the project.
The girders are being supplied by Pomeroy Corporation on a supply and erect basis.
“We have worked with Pomeroy a number of times before,” Selwyn says, “and the quality of their product and their excellent co-ordination in the field have ensured the smooth running and success of those jobs.
“The first Phase of the Garvey Avenue job was no exception,” he continues. “Pomeroy’s Field Representative, Enrique Guillen, was, as always, meticulous in his attention to detail and he made sure that the girders, which were being transported 50 miles from Pomeroy’s Perris plant, were all on site in the correct orientation as we needed them.”
Mr. Crane provided a four man rigging crew with the 500-ton crane, led by Bob Nix, their Rigging Superintendent. |
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“Bob is very experienced in this work,” Selwyn says, “and his attention to safety and leadership abilities ensured that the work proceeded smoothly and, indeed, ahead of the schedule laid out for the work. Safety was a major consideration on this project and, as he does with all such work, Bob ensured that the crews were thoroughly briefed before the lifts started and closely monitored all aspects of safety throughout.” |
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“One thing that made our job much easier and safer,” Bob explains, “is the use of lightweight high capacity Kevlar slings instead of the very heavy wire slings that would otherwise have been required.”
Another key player was the 500-ton crane operator, Shawn Deitrick. “Shawn was intimately involved in the planning of this job,” Selwyn says. “Although we have only had the crane in service since November 2006, Shawn has developed a thorough knowledge of this very sophisticated piece of equipment and his contribution was invaluable in solving many of the problems we encountered. He is also a very safe and effective operator, maximizing the efficient operation of the crane and inspiring a great deal of confidence in all those who work with him.” |
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According to Selwyn, being able to satisfy the customer that Mr. Crane has a workable and safe plan before the start of a job is often one of the big challenges and this case was no different. In addition to a detailed lift schedule—which Mr. Crane subsequently beat in every respect—the company was able to present the customer with a 3-dimensional modeling of the lift using its AutoCAD based Liftplanner software coupled with the information provided by Liebherr’s Liccon computerized lift planning program. Liebherr’s program also provided accurate crane outrigger loadings, which was important as Mr. Crane was limited by the loadings they were allowed to impose on the channel floor.
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“In the event, the Phase One lifts went exactly to plan and we had a very relieved and satisfied customer as well as the city officials who viewed the proceedings, Selwyn comments. “The client was blown away to see a single crane lift such heavy girders. They were both impressed and pleased with the job we’ve done to date.”
Bridge girder erection is just one type of job that Mr. Crane undertakes with its 500-ton crane. According to Selwyn, “this crane has worked virtually every day since it was commissioned in November 2006 and has helped us become a leading company in Southern California for tower crane erection and dismantle, HVAC installation, bridge girder erection, wind turbine generator installation and maintenance and heavy lifting where time, access and space are limited.
“We have been able to road our 500-ton All-Terrain by trailing the boom in a dolly and we have become very proficient at setting up and breaking the crane down on site,” he continues. “Indeed we can set up, complete a lift and be gone before an equivalent crawler crane is half way though setting up. |
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“These large, high capacity All-Terrain hydraulic cranes are the way of the future,” Selwyn says, “as evidenced by the way our 500-ton LTM 1400-7.1 has developed its own market. They are, however, only as good as the people who plan and execute the work and therein, lays Mr. Crane’s real strength.”
“I sincerely believe that we have the best team in the industry,” Selwyn says. “Planning, planning, planning, execution is our motto and this is the reason why we have developed such an excellent reputation and become a leader in the crane industry in Southern California. We are constantly seeking new challenges to tackle.” |
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Mr. Crane has more than 30 years of experience in the industry. In addition to bridge girder erection, they provide general and specialist lifting services, tilt panel erection, tower crane operations, rigging services, lift planning and engineering, 3D CAD and lift simulation software, and project management.
For more information look online at www.mrcrane.com or call (714) 633-2100. Cc |
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