Link-Belt TCC-800 Telescopic Boom Crawler Crane Pivotal In Florida Interstate 595 Expansion Project

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Malcom Drilling recently used Link-Belt TCC-800 and TCC-750 telescopic boom crawler cranes to help construct 212 concrete foundation piers as part of a roadway project along Interstate 595 in Florida. (Photo courtesy of Link-Belt.)

Foundation and special-application contractor Malcolm Drilling recently tapped two Link-Belt telescopic crawler cranes for an interstate highway project in Florida. The contractor received an 18-month contract in 2020 for the $1.8 billion project, which included the construction of five bridges adjacent to the interstate that crossed large retention ponds and roads. The company used an 80-ton (75-metric-ton) Link-Belt TCC-800 and a 75-ton (70-mt) TCC-750, along with several oscillators and drilling rigs, to construct 212 concrete foundation piers along a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometer) section of I-595 between the Sawgrass Expressway and Florida Turnpike.

Convenient Mobility

Malcolm began by drilling the foundation shafts up to 100 feet (30.5 meters) deep and then using the cranes to place form tubes and lower rebar cages into the shafts prior to pouring, often in fairly tight work spaces. Work on the retention ponds required the contractor to position drilling equipment and the cages on one barge and the TCC-800 on a second barge along the roadway while crew members worked below road level in the 45-ft median of the highway beneath the bridges. Once drilling was complete, the Link-Belt crawler would lift the tubes and cages from the drilling barge as needed, at which point the crew would reposition the crane’s barge and use its telescoping boom to position them properly for placement.

“It’s convenient to have that mobility,” says Malcolm Drilling Superintendent Mike Esposito. “With the lattice boom crane, you would have to tear it down, walk it under the bridge, and put it back together again. This way, you can just telescope everything in, and just walk from one side to the other (of the viaduct). When you are using the TCC-800, it’s nice to telescope in or out based on all the different radii of equipment we have sitting here.”

Malcolm Drilling says the project was but one part of a long-term set of improvement projects that will extend through 2044.

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Work on the project sometimes required the TCC-800 to work from a barge alongside the roadway; the crane’s telescoping boom made this process much simpler and more convenient. (Photo courtesy of Link-Belt.)

The TCC-800

Link-Belt debuted the TCC-800 in 2020 as a successor to the TCC-750. The crane is powered by a Stage V Cummins QSB 6.7-liter engine rated for 232 horsepower (173 kilowatts) at 2,000 rpm. It has a 20-degree tilting cab and a multi-camera system to enhance operators’ view of the load and the jobsite, and includes a four-section, full-power main boom that is up to 120.1 ft (36.6 m) long, for a maximum tip height of 184.5 ft (56.2 m) with the SmartFly pinning system. Link-Belt equips the TCC-800 with V-CALC variable side frame track positions that allow the operator to position the tracks asymmetrically as dictated by available work space and load charts. The manufacturer also offers an optional, wireless remote control system that allows operators to work outside the cab.

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Source: Link-Belt