A recent repair on the Patroon Island Bridge over the Hudson River in New York required the contractor to find a crane that could work from a barge below the bridge so traffic would not be impeded. A 75-ton Grove GHC75 telescopic-boom crawler crane was selected by Halmar/A. Servidone – B. Anthony, a joint-venture contracting team, for its stabilty and maneuverability. The joint venture rented the crane from Stephenson Equipment.
Tom Valenti, engineer for Castleton, N.Y.-based A. Servidone Inc/B. Anthony Construction Corp. (ASIBACC), said the GHC75 struck the perfect balance between the stability of a crawler crane and the telescoping boom of a rough-terrain crane.
“Any crawler crane will keep you balanced on the water due to its wide treads, like those of a tank,” he said. “What makes the GHC superior to the average crawler is its telescopic boom. We can move what we need to move with a simpler, more direct motion. There’s no need to swing the boom and sacrifice stability.”
The crane’s primary function was erecting structural lifting towers, which had the company place steel piers in the water on which the bridge bearing sits.
“This was a project where we needed to thread the needle,” Valenti said. “We had to move 6-ton steel beams up to 80 ft. in the air with precision, all without disturbing the barge. The crane’s 118-ft. boom and low center of gravity allowed us to do just that.”
The 42'6"x10'6" footprint of the GHC75 also led to unanticipated savings for the company.
“We usually have to hire a tug boat to move us around the pier to get the crane in position during bridge construction,” Valenti explained. “Thanks to the compact nature of the GHC75 and its crawler crane maneuverability, we were able to service the bridge from a single position on the river, which resulted in considerable cost savings.”
The Patroon Island Bridge connects New York’s Albany and Rensselaer counties. The project began in June 2013 and was completed in December 2015.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
