A recent project to repair the Patroon Island Bridge, which spans the Hudson River in New York, USA presented a unique challenge to contractors. A lifting solution was called for that could place a crane on a barge below the bridge, while traffic continued to flow above. In the end, a Grove GHC75 telescopic crawler crane was chosen.
A joint venture contracting team consisting of New York-based contractors Halmar International and A. Servidone Inc/B. Anthony Construction Corporation (ASIBACC) were tasked with the tricky set of repairs. The team said they chose the GHC75 for the project because of its stability and manoeuvrability.
Tom Valenti, engineer at ASIBACC, said the 75 US ton (68 tonne) capacity GHC75 struck the perfect balance between the stability of a crawler crane and the telescopic 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 GHC75 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 the erection of 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 US ton (5.4 tonne) steel beams up to 80 feet in the air with precision, all without disturbing the barge. The crane’s 118 ft boom and low centre of gravity allowed us to do just that.”
The GHC75 has the ability to pick-and-carry at 100 percent of its load chart and can swing loads a full 360 degrees, making it ideal for barge-mounted applications, the company said.
The Patroon Island Bridge connects the New York Albany and Rensselaer counties. The project began in June 2013 and was completed in December 2015. More than 70,000 people travel over the 1,795 ft long bridge on a daily basis.
