Three Link-Belt lattice boom crawler cranes are currently being deployed by Mississippi construction company Key Constructors to drive over 300 pre-stressed concrete pilings into the ground for a hurricane evacuation route.
Key Constructors of Madison, Mississippi is currently using two 248 HSL crawler cranes and one 238 HSL crawler crane to build seven bridges and an interchange as a major subcontractor of Yates Construction on a 9.8-mile stretch of Highway 57 near Vancleave, Mississippi.
“We’ll drive 32 concrete pilings for each of the intermediate bridges, then 24 for the bridge abutments, all with Link-Belt cranes,” said site Superintendent Jeff Jackson.
Link-Belt’s 238 HSL lattice boom crawler crane holds a maximum lifting capacity of 136 tonnes and a main boom length of 70 metres. As the next class up, the 248 HSL can lift an extra 55 metric tonnes than its counterpart and holds a boom length of 75 metres.
“We like Link-Belt’s cranes – we’ve had good service from them,” said Jackson. “We’ve owned various Link-Belt models, and most of our bigger cranes like the 238 HSL and 248 HSL handle pile driving and steel erection.”
The project will eventually serve as a secondary evacuation route as well as a bypass around Vancleave. Mississippi 63, twelve miles to the east is the only other north-south route for quickly moving the local population off the coast for hurricane evacuation. The new four-lane highway will go north from Interstate 10 in Jackson County and travel north to Gautier-Vancleave Road in Jackson County, Mississippi.
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