| Paul Gillis |
Having completed the preparation of the culvert bottom the previous day, Thursday morning was focused on placing the top pieces and the wing walls at the Stevens Brook Culvert Replacement Culvert project. The last piece was set in place around noon. The precast concrete for the culvert was manufactured by Superior Concrete in Auburn, Maine. Keeley Crane brought their 5-axle all-terrain mobile crane with an impressive 275-ton capacity to do the job for Shaw Brothers.
With a boom that is 223′ long, the large crane was needed to set the heavy pieces at a long distance. Cranes have significant capacity when the load is close; setting a load further away, when the boom must be lowered to a shallower angle, the initial capacity is greatly reduced. Fortunately, technology is incorporated to allow the operator to know the crane is level, stable, and when the capacity limits are near. Perhaps if you see this $2.5 million crane motoring down the highway at 50 mph, you could give them a wave.
How does one become a crane operator, you might ask. To start, good vision, good hearing, good reaction time, the ability to pay close attention to the safety of the work site and a high school diploma or equivalent are necessary. From there, a person can undertake an operator training process, licensing/certification requirements, and an employer evaluation process. Once certified, the operator may have the opportunity to work with many types of cranes in many types of projects throughout their career.
Quiz Time:
- If the last wing wall piece weighs 30,000 pounds, approximately how many tons does it weigh?
A. 30 tons
B. 15 tons
C. 10 tons - If reinforced concrete weighs 150# per cubic foot, approximately how many cubic feet of reinforced concrete make up the wing wall?
A. 300 cubic feet
B. 200 cubic feet
C. 100 cubic feet - If the mobile crane weighs 153,000 pounds and has 170,000 pounds of counter weights, approximately how much does the fully assembled crane weigh?
A. 325 tons
B. 165 tons
C. 110 tons
For comparison, a 1,500 SF single-story home might weigh 100 tons, excluding foundation and contents.
