Public works work: Infrastructure jobs

Back in November 2021, the United States Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a $1.2 trillion package of projects. By January of 2025, some $591 billion had been announced for more than 72,000 projects and awards in all 50 states and territories.

The bill was set to cover 207,000-plus miles of roadway repairs and improvements; 12,300-plus projects to build, repair or modernize bridges; 695-plus transportation projects; 1,060-plus port and waterway projects; 1,500-plus projects for airport expansion and modernization; 445-plus rail modernization projects including the delivery of the nation’s first high-speed rail systems and many other public works projects.

Our annual infrastructure job roundup includes projects performed by Buckner HeavyLift Cranes, Bay Crane, Engineered Rigging and Omega Morgan.

Bush airport upgrade

The Terminal B upgrade at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston will greatly enhance the passenger experience and expand capacity at one of the airport’s original terminals. A collaborative effort between United Airlines and the City of Houston/Houston Airport System, the project features 22 new gates, 18 upgraded gates, doubling the size of the check-in and TSA facilities and expanding baggage claim.

One of the requirements on the Houston airport job was that the cranes be assembled at night. PHOTO: Buckner HeavyLift

The $2.6 billion Terminal B transformation includes a new glass curtain wall system, involving 1,316 units of glass panels and 8,000 tons of structural steel.

Buckner HeavyLift Cranes has been involved in the IAH terminal expansion in a big way, providing two Liebherr LR 11000s with operators to erect the structural steel on the central processor area of the terminal.

The two Liebherr LR 11000s were rigged in the SW1 configuration with 118 feet of main boom and 138 feet of luffing jib. A high-profile project, there have been many challenges on the jobsite, mainly because planes are taking off and landing around the clock.

Other challenges are related to crane mobilization/demobilization access, personnel access and FAA height restrictions. The cranes were lifting structural steel daily. The largest was a tandem lift of a 250-foot-long steel truss weighing approximately 180 tons.

The cranes were on the job for about five months, completing many routine lifts and the large truss lift. The capacity relative to the crane’s footprint of the Liebherr LR 11000 made this the perfect crane for the project’s limited space and multiple size lifts.

“The Houston Airport project had many challenges,” said Buckner’s Sean Maclam. “Terminal B Central Processor is essentially built at the airport’s center – with passenger traffic surrounding the site. Months of planning with our customer and key operations team personnel went into making the mobilization, tandem lift and demobilization of these cranes a success.”

The original Terminal B is 56 years old and was due for a facelift. Adding a sleek, modern touch, the new curtain wall system will enhance the exterior of the terminal while the gate expansion will give passengers an upgraded experience when flying. The Terminal B concourses should be fully finished and operational in late 2026.

ABC/PBU bridge process

For more than 85 years, Bay Crane has been a cornerstone of the nation’s most complex infrastructure projects. Two recent jobs featured an Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) project and a Prefabricated Bridge Unit (PBU) transport and crane erection project.

For the ABC job, the Bay Crane team operation began at 7 p.m. on a Friday evening for the demolition of the existing structure. By 4 p.m. Sunday, the team worked through the night with the goal to reopen the highway ahead of schedule, by 2:45 a.m. the following morning.

The project involved the precise relocation of a massive newly constructed bridge structure measuring 210 feet in length and nearly 50 feet in width. It weighed 2,540,000 pounds. To accommodate structural deflection, the bridge was elevated eight inches before being transported 72 feet to its new permanent position. Bay Crane managed both engineering design and on-site execution, leveraging 64 lines of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) arranged in a double-wide 16-line configuration.

Buckner HeavyLift’s two Liebherr LR 11000s are rigged in the SW1 configuration with 118 feet of main boom and 138 feet of luffing jib. The two cranes assisted in the erection of more than 8,000 tons of structural steel.

In addition to the SPMTs, the operation used 12 200-ton climbing jacks and a comprehensive inventory of mats, steel plates and specialized rigging equipment. This combination of equipment and experienced personnel ensured the project was completed with safety, efficiency and precision, minimizing disruption and demonstrating Bay Crane’s leadership in accelerated bridge construction.

Over the span of four weekends, Bay Crane coordinated the transport and installation of 12 Prefabricated Bridge Units (PBUs) and all associated end walls and approach slabs, delivering precision and efficiency from start to finish, the company said.

Bay Crane managed engineering design and on-site execution of the West Warwick, Rhode Island accelerated bridge construction job, leveraging 64 lines of SPMTs arranged in a double-wide 16-line configuration.

The operation began at a laydown area roughly seven miles from the jobsite, where the PBUs – each weighing 182,300 pounds and stretching over 108 feet – were staged on sets of nine in-house tractors and trailers. Loads were transported strategically in the evening hours, from the laydown area to the hook of the crane.

In Providence, Rhode Island, Bay Crane coordinated the transport and installation of 12 prefabricated bridge units and associated end walls and approach slabs. Bay Crane’s Liebherr LTM 1650 and two Liebherr LTM 1450s performed the heavy lifting.

Bay Crane then mobilized its Liebherr LTM 1650, configured with 385,800 pounds of counterweight, a 130-foot main boom and a Y-Guide. The crane was also rigged with specialized below-the-hook rigging gear consisting of an 108-foot truss spreader bar, two 55-ton shackles and two equalizing triangles. This configuration handled the two sets of three outside PBUs for both the northbound and southbound sides. Two Liebherr LTM 1450 cranes, each equipped with a 122-foot boom, worked in tandem to lift and position the two sets of three inside PBUs for both northbound and southbound sides, while the LTM 1160 was dedicated to installing the 29,000-pound end walls and approach slabs.

Girder placement challenge

Omega Morgan’s Washington crane team recently tackled a challenging bridge project in Gig Harbor, Washington, supporting the placement of five massive girders over Cramer Road. With each girder spanning 132 feet and weighing 120,000 pounds, the project required expert lift execution and coordination.

Spanning three days, the job involved two heavy lift cranes – a Tadano AC 5.220L-1 and a Grove GMK6300L-1 – mobilized on opposite sides of the bridge. Complicating matters, the team had to work within inches of retaining wall edges while precisely managing multi-point load sharing between two cranes and a steerable trailer provided by Van Dyke Trucking. The intricate three-party lift meant both cranes and the transport crew shared control of the load simultaneously across a 60-foot stretch.

After a custom lifting collar was secured to a pier, ER’s 550-ton Enerpac JS500 jack-up system would extend and take the load.

To ensure safe and efficient execution, Omega Morgan conducted multiple site visits and finalized a stamped engineered lift plan just days before mobilization, following a late request from the county. Despite heavy rain throughout the day, the crew completed all five girder sets in under six hours, thanks to careful coordination, expert rigging and detailed planning, according to Omega Morgan’s Erik Zander.

“The success of this complex lift didn’t go unnoticed – Omega Morgan has since been booked for two more dual-crane girder set projects,” Zander said. “For Omega Morgan, it was another day of moving the industry forward, one high stakes lift at a time.”

Specialized demolition

Soaring 65 feet above the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the U.S. Route 17 bridge in Georgetown, South Carolina, is a critical artery, carrying over 25,000 vehicles daily. When river scour, (the erosion of sediment around bridge supports caused by swiftly moving water) began to compromise the foundations of four central piers in the 20-foot-deep Waccamaw River, the bridge’s integrity was at risk. The prime contractor, United Infrastructure Group (UIG), devised an innovative repair using “crutch bents,” new forked supports built around the existing columns to seamlessly transfer the bridge’s load.

This solution, however, created a new engineering puzzle: how to remove the original piers, each weighing up to 530 tons and standing 50 feet tall. Not only were they big and heavy, they also were enclosed by the new bents and under the existing bridge.

UIG’s in-house United Demolition team led the complex deconstruction effort. They developed a plan to dismantle the piers from the bottom up, requiring flexible yet robust support for the massive structures while sections were methodically cut away. To help with this challenge, they enlisted specialty engineering support from Genesis Structures and heavy-lifting expertise from Engineered Rigging (ER).

The ER team selected an Enerpac JS500 jack-up system for its 550-ton capacity per leg, compact design and ability to reach the required height. After a custom lifting collar was secured to a pier, the jack-up system would extend and take the load. A diamond wire saw then cut a 60-ton block of concrete from the pier’s base. The block was transferred for disposal using a Holmatro skidding system.

This carefully choreographed sequence of pre-loading, cutting, sliding and lowering was perfected on-site with support from ER technicians. The systematic process allowed the United Demolition team to deconstruct each pier in approximately 10 days. The project, which began in June 2025 was successfully completed in August 2025, showcasing a creative vision and flawless execution in heavy civil demolition.