New Link-Belt
HTT-8660 demonstrates mobility in bridge replacement

BLACKBROOK, New York (September 2002) — Luck Brothers’ new Link-Belt HTT-8660 crane is a perfect fit for its first application -- tear down and replace a deteriorating bridge that carries heavy traffic over U.S. Route 3 over the Saranac River. Its lift, reach, mobility and duty cycle times were a good match for its use.

Plattsburgh, N.Y.– based Luck Brothers are replacing the old bridge, which is located seven miles west of the small community of Redford and has a 1997 average daily traffic of 3,828 automobiles and a projected 2003 average daily traffic of 4,513 automobiles.

The structure is being replaced as a part of New York Department of Transportation's (NYDOT) effort to upgrade its outdated infrastructure. In order to accomplish this, the Luck Brothers first have to replace a smaller bridge, which will be used as a detour for traffic around the primary bridge during the time of its replacement.

Both bridges are located within environmentally sensitive Adirondack State Park, which are situated over pristine trophy trout waters. Government environmental agencies and the organization, Trout Unlimited, are closely monitoring the construction.

The original structure on Cold Brook Road was a steel beam bridge with spread footers, concrete abutments, and a poured concrete deck. It is situated at the confluence of the Cold Brook and the North Fork of the Saranac River, about one-mile north of the primary structure. Luck Brothers began work on it in May 2002 and estimated its replacement completion by November.

The new Cold Brook Road Bridge will be of similar construction as the old one with several very important differences. The first is that the new bridge is being reset in the proper alignment with the river. The second is that the abutment foundations are each set on twenty-two 35-foot long 12" H-Beam pile. The final difference is the new bridge will be about 25 feet longer. Reusable, ganged Symons forms with vinyl architectural inserts were used for the abutments, and to give them a rough fieldstone façade.

According to Bridge Superintendent, Larry La Barre, they were able to access the work from both sides of the river. They did this for the crew by making a temporary walkway across it from an old bridge girder. The crew worked from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. in order to avoid the peak heat period of the day.

The Link-Belt HTT-8660 crane, according to operator Tony Esposito, had the reach to span the 130-foot wide river if necessary, but it also had the speed and mobility to easily drive around the rural detour road from one side to the other.

"Our main use of the 60-ton capacity Link-Belt HTT-8660 was for handling forms and materials. There is a lot of rebar and temporary formwork used in the abutments. That's where the HTT-8660 really came in handy. I can easily handle the forms. We always use a tag line as well to prevent them from acting like a sail in the wind. It doesn't matter if it’s a ganged form or a single panel, I have the control of them and the visibility and stability with the Link-Belt to handle light or heavy loads," explains Esposito.

The older bridge was built in the 1960's. The old steel beam girder bridge was somewhat misaligned with the river flow. The result of this was erosion around the spread footers and bridge abutments, which were then being undermined.

Once the deck and steel girders were removed, the abutments and footers were next. Luck Brothers successfully petitioned the owners for permission to remove these by blasting. You can easily envision the enormity of that problem. Permits had to be approved by many agencies.

Luck subcontracted the removal, only after they installed the extensive in-place environmental filter protections. Primacord, rather than electrical blasting caps, was used to detonate the small blasting charges.

Then came the disposal of the blasted debris. That, too, raised environmental concerns. Eventually acceptable sites were located and approved in old borrow pits that would not pollute either the river or the groundwater.

A new bridge to be built over the Saranac River in 2003 will consist of eleven 3 1/2' deep, precast prestressed concrete box beams. The bridge will be 103.32 feet long. Luck’s new Link-Belt HTT-8660 will play an important role in that replacement process, too.