Link-Belt cranes set the foundation for the World War II Monument

WASHINGTON D.C. (September 2002) — Two Link-Belt crawler cranes are setting the foundation for the National World War II Memorial, which is being built at the Rainbow Pool site on the central axis of the National Mall. The Rainbow Pool is located at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. The World War II Memorial will be the only twentieth century historical event commemorated on the Mall's central axis.

When Congress authorized the memorial in 1993, it placed the project under the direction of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), an independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government. ABMC engaged the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide project management and contracting services to support the establishment and construction of the memorial. In May 1999, GSA competitively selected the Gilbane Building Company to provide construction management services for the project.

In June 2001, GSA awarded a $56.1 million construction contract to the joint venture of Tompkins Builders and Grunley-Walsh Construction. Tompkins Builders, established in 1911, is the third largest construction company in the Washington Metropolitan area. Grunley Construction and Walsh Construction are also Washington-based construction firms.

Midlantic Piling, Inc. chose a new Link-Belt LS-218H Series II, conventional crawler crane, with a 130' boom to accomplish the important bearing pile driving phase of the work. The 110-ton capacity crane will support a 15,900-pound ICE 60S single acting diesel pile hammer, and 96 foot long swinging leads. A Link-Belt 75 ton with a 120' boom, rented from United Crane & Rigging of Baltimore is handling the two vibratory hammers (ICE & HMC) being used to drive and extract the sheet pile.

The contract, according to Tompkins Builders Project Manager Jim McCloskey, called for the driving of between five and six hundred 14BP89 bearing pile, up to 55-feet in length. The majority of the bearing piling, in the foundation area, is about 35 feet long. The bearing piling are being driven to refusal in bedrock. Refusal criteria are defined as no less then 10 blows to the inch.

The contract also included the installation and eventual removal of 1,600-feet of protective sheet pile. Lengths vary from 25 to 35-feet. Some of these are being driven in owner designed vault areas, while others are being driven in contractor designed tunnel areas.

Far more than a typical pile driving project, the award-winning National World War II Memorial, has, according to Project Director Darrell W. Brown, Sr. of the United States General Service Administration, drawn international, national, regional and local attention.

Together, the firms have 135 years of construction experience on award-winning federal projects in and around the District of Columbia. Construction and renovation projects the companies participated in collectively include the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, the National Air and Space Museum, the White House and the U.S. Capitol Building.

Midlantic Piling, Inc.'s president, William J. Lytle, PE, said that they had the new Link-Belt crane equipped especially for the heavy-duty pile driving application.

Everything about the machine is geared toward that goal. This includes an optional third drum and a boom selected for it ability to stand up to the day-to-day rigors of this function. The footprint of the LS-218H II provides the stability necessary for the crane to work easily on many types of ground conditions. Lytle said this was very important because the construction site of the new National World War II Memorial was initially a swamp area that was later filled in with various materials. "The reclaimed area is very soft. You can see the ground pumping as we work on it. It is not a very strong soil above the bedrock, but the bedrock is tough.

"The firm purchased the new crane not only for the World War II Memorial, but to increase the capability of its equipment fleet to handle similar demanding jobs like it in the future. The largest single project that we have done so far would be on an Alexandria, Va. wastewater treatment facility. About the smallest project we would undertake would be a $15,000 to $25,000 sheeting and shoring job,” explains Lytle.

"We do a lot of highway work where we need to mobilize a lot, so we own more Link-Belt truck cranes than crawler machines. With the contract at the National World War II Memorial and some other work, that we have coming up, we had a need for a crawler machine. We've always had a fondness for Link-Belt cranes and the LS-218H Series II had the features we needed. It's self-erecting and can handle the heavy-duty work we have planned for it. There were other, less expensive cranes available to us, but we felt this was the right machine for us over the long haul," said Lytle.