Taking the Higher Road: Omega Morgan’s Crane Services Help Elevate A Major Thoroughfare in Kent WA

As Washington State works to improve fish passageways under its roadways, Omega Morgan’s Seattle crane services division was there to help. For this particular project in Kent, WA, the objective was to raise a busy roadway by approximately six feet. To do this, a new, elevated road would be built using a complex ground system and two concrete piers, with 62-foot hollow core precast girders between them to create a bridge. The subcontracted construction company couldn’t achieve this with their typical excavator or construction tools—they would need to use a crane.

Adding to the complexity of this project, shutting down the road while it was under construction wasn’t an option. Instead, the new, elevated road would need to be built while access to the old road remained open, making it a job that required the utmost safety, efficiency, and precision. In other words, the perfect job for Omega Morgan.

CRANE SERVICES EXECUTED WITH EXTREME PRECISION

As soon as Omega Morgan’s crane services team came onto the project, they hit the ground running. They visited the project site several times and drew up multiple plan options for how the 63,200-pound girders could be lifted safely and placed precisely. The crew’s plans needed to be flexible because the location where the crane would ultimately be placed did not exist on their first visit—the site had to be brought up to proper elevation first. With each following site visit, the ground level for the new road rose. When the elevation was finally set, the engineering team realized that using one crane, as originally planned, would no longer work; it would put too much pressure on the newly built elevation system. The team needed to come up with a new solution. Quickly, they landed on a two-crane plan. This would allow for better weight distribution and would reduce the pressure on the ground system.

Omega Morgan’s Tadano 180-ton and Tadano 120-ton cranes were used to execute the move, along with two loads of counterweight and one load of engineered specialized mats. The Omega Morgan team consisted of two crane operators, two oilers, four counterweight drivers— who were also certified riggers—and one maintenance superintendent. The nine girders were moved in just one night, completing phase one of the elevation project.

A CRANE SERVICE COMPANY THAT RISES TO THE CHALLENGE

As always, safety was a high priority on this project, and Omega Morgan’s crane service team is no stranger to maintaining safe operations. Because the road being elevated was a major thoroughfare and needed to remain open to traffic during construction, impeccable care was essential when moving the girders. For each move, a specific coordination of steps was necessary. First, traffic on the old road was halted. Then, a truck carrying a girder drove in to deliver the girder to the cranes. While the crew rigged the girder between the two cranes, traffic was then allowed to pass. Then, once the girder was secure, traffic was stopped again so the crane operators could carefully swing the girder over the old roadway and up to the elevated road, placing it in its precise location. This process was repeated until all nine girders were set.

To do all of this safely and accurately, it was important that the crane operators and ground crew communicated clearly with one another as well as with the traffic controllers directing cars on the old roadway. The process went smoothly, and the job was completed overnight. Both the subcontracted construction company and the general contractor were very pleased with Omega Morgan’s work on this complex project.