IN FOCUS / ALLEGHENY CRANE RENTAL BRIDGE RESCUE
US BRIDGE COLLAPSE REQUIRES BUS LIFT RESCUE Allegheny Crane and Rigging successfully rescued a bus and cars trapped by a bridge collapse. President of Allegheny Crane Rentals Kyrk Pyros explained the complexities of the project following the bridge collapse near Frick Park, Pittsburgh in the United States. Allegheny deployed its Liebherr LTM 1350-6.1 and Grove GMK5275.
114 / CAL May/June 2022
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF HOSPITALISATIONS as a result of the bridge collapse and at least three people rushed to hospital were on the bus. Miraculously there were no deaths. Understandably, the bridge deck had to be cleared of vehicles before any recovery work could begin. Allegheny Crane Rentals utilised a Liebherr LTM 1350-6.1 with Y guides and luffer to perform the lift with the most challenging aspect recovering the bus. The second crane, a Grove GMK5275, 275-tonne capacity all terrain featured luffing jib and utilised 63.71m of the main boom was also used in the recovery. The Port Authority bus was the most challenging aspect of the lifts. It was situated some 26 metres below the crane and weighed in at 21 tonnes, measuring 18m in length, 2.5m in width, and 3m in height. The bus was an articulated model, posing an even greater challenge for the planners as, once the lift began, it had potential to shift the centre of gravity on the load. The Allegheny crew began the task of solidifying the bus to ensure it could be lifted and not a pose a risk of shifting and placing the crew in danger. “We used Mcgann and Chester’s 90t rotator wrecker to pull up the bus to get it straightened out so we could rig and block-knuckle it,” said Pyros. “To prevent the bus from moving, we fixed cribbing, which was braced to the structural frame members inside the bus while it was being suspended by the wrecker, then we rigged the bus from the outside with our rigging plan. “Rigging like this is an art, where engineering and style collide for a great solution. I am more of a naturalist, I keep it as it lays for simplicity and safety. We have the vision in place then we say: let’s go worst case scenario, everything that can fail, might fail, do we have a contingency for this?” Pyros said. Lifting the 21t bus required www.cranesandlifting.com.au
