Terex trio bridges the gap

Three Terex cranes were called in to help repair the Eggner's Ferry Bridge that crosses the Tennessee River near Aurora, Kentucky, USA, after a 322 foot (98.1 metre) span of the 3,495 foot-long (1,065.3 m) bridge was destroyed by a cargo ship in January.

Bridge contractor, Hall Contracting of Louisville, Kentucky, was awarded the US$ 7 million contract and brought in a fleet of Terex rough terrain cranes and Terex Bid-Well paving equipment to construct and pave the new span.

Kentucky-based, Sterett Crane and Rigging was called on to provide the heavy lifting with specialized equipment, including a 600 tonne capacity Terex CC 2800-1 lattice boom crawler crane.

The four-month project involved 300 tons (272 tonnes) of steel to construct the truss frame. The frame was built on four acres of land and then floated by barge to the bridge site. On site to assist with the truss frame construction were a Terex RT 555-1 with a 55 ton (50 tonne) rated capacity and maximum boom length of 110 feet (33.5 m) and a larger, 80 ton (72.5 tonne) rated, RT 780 with 126 foot (38.4 m) boom.

May 15 saw the 322 foot-long, 32 foot-tall and 25 foot-wide (98.1 x 9.8 x 7.6 m) bridge span lifted from the water and placed on its piers. Hall's team then completed the deck paving and, on Friday, May 25, the Eggner's Ferry Bridge was, once again, ready for traffic.