Indiana-headquartered heavy-civil contractor Traylor Bros has deployed two Liebherr LR 1300.1 SX crawler cranes to assemble bridge sections for the Juneau Creek Bridge in Alaska, USA.
With a 300-tonne lifting capacity, the LR 1300.1 SX crawlers were deployed at either side of the bridge, which spanned 290 m. The steel girders of the bridge were assembled on one side of the Juneau Creek Canyon and then gradually pushed over to Cooper Landing with hydraulic presses using a bridge launch method.
“The most challenging lift for us was the first girders of the bridge. They were very heavy, and I had to rely on a lot of ground people because wind was coming in. We could see up to 40 mph (64.4 kmh) winds,” explained Travis Ludlow, crane driver of one of the LR 1300.1 SX at Traylor Bros. “So, I am very happy that we therefore have two Liebherr crawler cranes – one on each side of the project.”
A key aspect for Ludlow was the cranes’ gradient travel aid feature for navigating slopes, which was particularly prominent during this project. The crane’s control systems automatically calculates the centre of gravity and warns the operator before the crane exits the safe area, with the operator given real-time information.
“The reliability of the crawler cranes is incredibly important for our project site. We have a small window before the weather kicks us out. Any malfunctions would cause massive schedule delays,” added Ludlow.
As well as extreme temperatures, Taylor Bros had to factor in safety concerns when it comes to possible earthquakes. The remote location and infrastructural restrictions – such as steep slopes and limited access roads – make moving large bridge components extremely difficult. In preparation, Taylor Bros used Liebherr’s 3D software Crane Planner 2.0 to simulate the lifts.
Earlier this week, HLPFI reported that PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (PKT) had added a first Liebherr mobile crane to its fleet – the LTM 1230-5.1.
