Link-Belt 348 H5 Lifts Between The Hedges At University Of Georgia

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Overhead view of Precision Stone Setting Co. 348 H5 at Sanford Stadium. (Photo courtesy of Link-Belt.)

This post is courtesy of Link-Belt.

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Bleacher supports weighing up to 30,000 pounds (13,607.7 kilograms) are removed by a Link-Belt 348 H5 at University of Georgia in Athens. (Photo courtesy of Link-Belt.)

Precision Stone Setting Co. of Hiram, Georgia purchased a 300-ton (273-metric ton) Link-Belt 348 H5 lattice crawler crane in part for stadium renovations at University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. The west end of the stadium will be renovated, encompassing a new team locker room, recruiting hospitality lounge, scoreboard, and stadium seating.

The project completes a $63 million investment for the home of University of Georgia football. Sanford Stadium was originally built in 1929 and upon completion will become the tenth largest stadium of any kind, by capacity (92,746), in the United States.

Precision Stone’s 348H5 uses 240 feet (73.1 meters) of main boom, required primarily for removing the old scoreboard and installing a new 100 feet (30.4 meters) by 50 feet (15.2 meters) video score board over existing bleachers.

The foundation, which supports the stadium bleachers, is removed and replaced with 104 larger concrete sections that weigh 30,000 pounds (13 607.7 kilograms) each.

Precast Stone selected the 300-ton Link-Belt to remove and eventually replace one type of precast concrete beam in particular – 100,000-pound (45,449-kilogram) raker beams – which are an awkwardly angled section of concrete that runs perpendicular to support sections.

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A 100,000-pound (45,449-kilogram) raker beam is removed in the west end of stadium renovations at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia. (Photo courtesy of Link-Belt.)

“I gently lift the raker beam up. Once I see movement on top of the columns, I just ease the boom up so it comes to me just a little bit. Then I lift it higher and away from the columns. The crew rotates the beam with tag lines about 40 degrees and I set it down in between the columns. We lay it over on its side so another crew can saw it into three pieces,” says Operator, Keith Carpenter.

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The project completes a $63 million investment for the home of University of Georgia football. Sanford Stadium was originally built in 1929 and upon completion will become the tenth largest stadium of any kind, by capacity (92,746), in the United States. (Photo courtesy of Link-Belt.)

“I love this machine. It’s a smooth operating crane and operator friendly. It’s also strong, but I just like it because of its smoothness. I’ve operated cranes for 35 years, but this is the first new crawler machine I’ve operated. It is real comfortable, too,” says Carpenter.

Taking the raker beams down in one piece proved easier than breaking up each section in place. The slabs are hauled on flat beds to be recycled in Norcross, Georgia. New precast concrete is shipped in from Hiram, GA and Greenville, South Carolina.

“We’ve had a lot of good results with Link-Belt equipment. They are more user friendly than other machines. We get a lot of good use out of the Link-Belts and everybody likes running them,” says equipment manager Jon Leggett.

Link-Belt Cranes, with headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky, is a leader in the design and manufacture of telescopic boom and lattice boom cranes for the construction industry worldwide.

Complete crane specifications are available at www.linkbelt.com.

Source: Link-Belt

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