InfraStructures - April 2012 - Manitowoc 7000 Works on Mississippi River Bridge Project

Manitowoc 7000 Works on
Mississippi River Bridge Project

A Manitowoc 7000 is taking center stage on the construction of a cable-stayed bridge in St. Louis, Missouri, that will span the Mississippi River. The 317 t capacity crane is being used to construct two towers that will support the bridge.

The Manitowoc 7000 is pedestal-mounted on a 28 m x 60 m barge. It is being used to lift preassembled rebar cages into place. These cages will form the base for the two 124 m towers that will support the bridge. The crane will perform over 70 rebar cage lifts, weighing from 20,4 t to over 45 t.

The crane is currently configured with 99 m of main boom and a 18,3 m jib. As the project progresses, the crane will be reconfigured with 122 m of main boom and 18,3 m of jib to provide a tip height of 140 m.

Massman Construction of Kansas City owns and operates the Manitowoc 7000. Massman is the lead contractor in a joint venture, which includes Traylor Brothers of Evansville, Ind., and Alberici Constructors of St. Louis.
Dale Helmig, project manager for Massman Construction, says that having a large-capacity crane available will help them stay on schedule throughout the construction process.

“The Manitowoc 7000 saves us time,” he says. “There would be no way we could meet the schedule without preassembling these rebar cages.”

After the towers are complete, the Manitowoc 7000 will be used in conjunction with other Manitowoc crawler cranes on the project to lift the field sections into place for the bridge span. These sections measure 15,2 m long x 28,6 m wide and weigh 90,7 t.

Other Manitowoc crawlers on the project include two Manitowoc 2250s, a Manitowoc 4100W and a Manitowoc 4000W.
One of the 2250s, configured with 76,2 m of main boom, is being used to pour concrete on one side of the river while the 4100W is pouring concrete on the other side of the river.

The other 2250 is configured with a 64 m main boom and is being used as a support crane on the project.

The $229 million Mississippi River Bridge project is a new four-lane bridge crossing the Mississippi River connecting downtown St. Louis and southwestern Illinois that, when complete, will be part of Interstate 70. With a 457 m main span, it will be the third-largest cable-stayed bridge in the United States. The bridge will be open to traffic in 2014.

Source: Manitowoc Company, Inc.