New RTC-8040 Series II crane provides multi-functional flexibility

Burnside, Ky. (December 1999) — Massman Construction recently began work on the new Cumberland River Bridge in South Central Kentucky with a new Link-Belt RTC-8040 Series II hydraulic rough terrain crane. “Our new Link-Belt crane is a multi-function machine. It is being used to assemble and erect pier cap form panels in a hard to reach location. Because of the very limited work and storage space on both the Cumberland River Bridge and the Pitman Creek Bridge sites, we needed an all around rough terrain crane that could also perform a variety of other tasks,” said Steve Underwood, Massman’s project manager.

“The two bridge projects were let as separate contracts by the Kentucky Department of Transportation about a month apart,” said Underwood. Since Massman won both bids, they have elected to work them as single projects. Work began last April on the larger bridge that takes U.S. Route 27 over the Cumberland River and the work on the smaller bridge began in December. Their projected completion for both structures is 2002.

As imagined, the bridges are needed because of increased traffic demands. There are plans to widen both the two-lane road and the bridges in the area. Cumberland River feeds into Lake Cumberland, a very popular recreational area. The Lake Cumberland area is also known as the houseboat manufacturing capital of the world. Many local houseboat manufacturers build some very large houseboats.

Larger bridges are necessary for transporting the houseboats from the various manufacturing plants in the area. Some of the houseboats hauled across the two-lane bridges are actually wider than the bridges themselves. They sit high enough on the transporters that they safely overhang the bridge railing. Of course, that requires the use of safety cars and one-way traffic while the houseboat is being transported.

The new four-lane wide U.S. Route. 27 bridge will be 1,406-ft. long. It will replace the existing, 50-year old, two-lane structure. There is a 120-ft. vertical drop from the staging area down to the river. To provide a safer work place, Massman constructed a wooden staircase for the employees. No riding a headache ball or sliding down a muddy bank on this jobsite. The staircase’s height is the equivalent of a 12-story building.

One of the unique features of the new Cumberland River bridge is that the foundation consists of a series of eight 11.5-ft. drilled shafts that are going 32-feet into the limestone and shale bedrock. “I understand that these are the largest diameter drill shafts ever done in Kentucky for a bridge. We are using a custom-built drill rig and Kelly bar for this,” explains Underwood.

Another operation they have ongoing is the assembly of a concrete form consultants cap form that is being erected in place on Pier Six. Their 40-ton capacity Link-Belt RTC-8040 Series II is doing the heavy lift assembly work rather than preassembling it and moving it into place as a single unit. It actually is a self-supporting cap form. It is being done this way because its location is too difficult to get to by using conventional methods. For one end of the cap, carpenters are assembling three steel form sections on the ground. The RTC-8040 Series II swings the 10-ton load into position, and holds it while the carpenters bolt it into the already in place cap section.

“One of the most important functions of our rough terrain crane is in handling incoming materials at the staging area and then, at a later date, transferring them out to the worksite.

Our storage space is very tight and severely limited. We needed a fast, highly maneuverable machine that could go almost anywhere and still do the work we needed once it got there. At the same time, we are starting the earth and abutment work about half a mile down river on the new 771-ft. long Pitman Creek Bridge. Hinkle Contractors, is also doing the earthwork on this structure. But here again we have only a limited working area, because we are using some of the space to stockpile materials including the long, large diameter drill shaft casings,” said Underwood.

Massman Construction Co. specializes in marine-oriented construction projects. They have been in business for more than 80 years. Their philosophy is to buy and use our machines to their rated capacities. “If we want a crane to lift 40 tons, then that is what we buy. If we want a crane to lift 600 tons, then that too, is what we buy,” explained Underwood. “Having said that, I should also point out that operational safety is the primary objective of this company. It is our feeling, also, that if we provide our workforce with a safe working environment, and safe tools to do their jobs, then they will produce a better product for us in a given amount of time. That, in turn, will give us the accident free productivity that is necessary to complete our construction projects on time and within budget. In all the years that I have been with Massman Construction we have never found a benefit to having an employee home injured.”

With the high cost of injuries, there is a financial advantage for a contractor to maintaining a safe working condition. There are the usual federal, state and local safety inspectors checking. Perhaps the most important are inspectors from the company insuring Massman. “This is incentive enough to provide a safe work site and maintaining our equipment in a safe operating mode. Since this is the way we do things, it also follows that we don’t overbuy a machine. If a manufacturer rates its crane to lift a certain amount at a specified radius, that’s what we expect it to do. It is our obligation to maintain each piece that we purchase in a condition to do this throughout the life expectancy of the equipment. The manufacturer can’t do that,” explains Underwood.

“And when the time comes to trade it in on something else, we anticipate getting a fair trade-in or resale value from it. For that reason we are very selective about whom we do business with. If we invest wisely in quality equipment, and maintain it well, we will meet our stated objectives.”

While Massman has much larger capacity cranes out on the water, they rely heavily on their new 40-ton capacity Link-Belt RTC-8040 Series II for many functions which the larger machines can’t do in a cost-effective manner. “It’s sort of a David and Goliath thing,” concluded Underwood.

Massman Construction Co. is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., specialize in water oriented projects, especially bridges and dams. Currently, much of their work is concentrated in the Central and Southeast part of the country, however they work throughout the United States.