8690 places 51,000 pound vault section for Virginia steam plant

Harrisonburg, VA –– Recently, Dean Steel Erectors rented three of their Link-Belt hydraulic truck cranes to Partners Excavating Company of Harrisonburg, VA including two HTC-8670’s and their new HTC-8690. This heavy-lift project at James Madison University involved replacing and upgrading a 3,000-foot underground steam line. It went across the university’s campus from the City of Harrisonburg’s steam generating facility to the JMU boiler house. The folks at Dean Steel should have suggested a set of waterwings to go along with the cranes.

According to Rick Rowe, Dean Steel’s Supervisor of Crane Rental, the job took several months and required the cranes to move on and off the job as the contractor needed. This high-mobility requirement and some very heavy picks made the 8690 the ideal crane.

Ten waterproof, concrete vaults housing valves and expansion joints needed to be placed in a trench 10 to 18 feet deep, along with two insulated pipes. These vaults were the reason for the Dean Steel cranes. Americast Precast of Harrisonburg fabricated the vaults in sections and engineered them to prevent uplifting or “floating” from groundwater pressure. They ranged in size from 12 by 15 by 18 feet to 12 by 12 by 10 feet and weighed around 100,000 pounds fully assembled.

The HTC-8690 really showed its stuff during the heaviest pick: a bottom section of the vault closest to the main building of the city’s steam plant. This single piece weighed 51,000 pounds. According to operator Robert Clutteur, the crane had a boom length of 63.5 feet, a boom angle of 60 degrees and a working radius of 27 feet. Next, he placed a 40,000-pound intermediate section and a 15,000-pound cap. Typical of this job, a steady drizzle saturated the entire operation.

According to Barry Hertzler, Project Manager for Partners Excavating Company, two major challenges on the project were a high groundwater table and constant rain. An already difficult, 50-foot bore under some railroad tracks required around-the-clock dewatering. One hillside vault required two HTC-8670’s because of safety concerns about the saturated soil. A single crane could have handled the lift in drier conditions.

Further challenging Barry and his crew were live subsurface utility lines. In one instance, the crane operator threaded a steel trench safety box (required at almost every pit) and a concrete vault under a live gas line.

In addition to cranes, Partners Excavating also relied on Dean Steel for several lowboy trailers to transport the vaults from the pre-cast plant to the jobsite. They stored the vaults on the trailers to facilitate quick placement when the excavation was complete.

This sort of comprehensive service is a hallmark of Dean Steel and of Willie Dean, the president and founder. Willie began his career in 1959. As an apprentice, he worked with his father and brother renovating the dome of the capitol in Washington, D.C. In 1969, Dean started his own welding company. He first bought and used an older crane. As the company grew, it established a reputation for doing quality work on time and within budget. He purchased his first new Link-Belt crane in 1996 and began renting it out when Dean Steel didn’t need it.

Dean Steel now has five modern Link-Belt hydraulic cranes. The HTC-8670 is the most useful size for rental, according to Mr. Dean. He considers it the Cadillac of 70-ton machines. After encountering jobs like the one at James Madison University, though, with heavy-pick and high-mobility requirements, the new HTC-8690 is a welcome edition to his fleet. Willie rents out the warterwings as an option.