Clark Rigging Helps Keep New York's Maid of the Mist in Operation
.jpg) |
April 16, 2014- Clark Rigging and Rental Corp. of Lockport, N.Y. and its Terex AC 350/6 and Terex AC 500-2 all terrains recently helped the state of New York rescue the family-run Maid of the Mist Corp., that's ships have operated on the Niagara River Gorge for more than 150 years, originally transporting people, cargo, and carriages across the river below the waterfalls, and more recently, with leases in both Canada and New York, as tour vessels for spectators.
“The vessels would dock for the winter in Canada, since they had the infrastructure,” says Steve Clark, vice president of Clark Rigging and Rental Corp.
The Maid of the Mist Corp. ended up losing its lease to operate in Canada and the docks that went along with it. With no place to dry-dock the vessels during the winter on the New York side of the Falls, the Maid of the Mist Corp. faced the potential of ceasing operations and the State of New York was in jeopardy of losing tourism revenues.
Both the company and New York representatives quickly searched for a suitable location to build a dry dock facility. With few viable options, the State came up with a solution that would allow it to transform an abandoned property, while enabling the Maid of the Mist voyages to continue. “They chose the site of the old Schoellkopf Power Station for the new dock,” mentions Clark. “The plant collapsed into the Niagara River Gorge in the 1950s.”
The site north of Niagara Falls had the full backing of the State for the $32 million renovation project. “We value the Maid of the Mist; we wanted to keep the Maid of the Mist here; we had a parcel we believed we could be better utilizing for the State and for tourism; and we put the two together,” said New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo while visiting Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Dec. 4, 2012.
50 Years Untouched
Building the infrastructure to support the two vessels and observation area was difficult. “Nothing had been done to the site since the Schoellkopf plant collapsed into the River,” mentions Clark. Melanie Parker, Sales Administrator for Clark Rigging added, “There was no access to the site for the equipment to build the harbor crane. Everything had to be lowered by cranne from a cliff overlooking the gorge approximately 150 ft. above the river."
Clark Rigging’s crew was first on site with its 400-ton capacity class Terex AC 350/6 all terrain crane, equipped with its full counterweight and 210-ft. main boom. Starting in May of 2013 and lasting for six weeks, the AC 350/6 crane was the workhorse of the project, aiding with initial site clean-up efforts. “We averaged 75 picks a day with the crane, lowering equipment down into the gorge,” says Clark.
While Clark Rigging’s AC 350/6 crane was lowering supplies to clear the gorge of trash and overgrowth and prepare the riverside for a new dry dock and observation area, work commenced on constructing a buck hoist elevator for a more efficient way to get workers down to the project site. Additionally, a high capacity ringer crane was erected to lower cranes, trailers, pieces of the harbor crane and other heavy components into the project site.
Among the equipment the AC 350/6 all terrain crane lowered into the gorge were skid steer loaders, dozers, all terrain trucks, and a 25,000-lb excavator. “We were working at about a 110-ft. radius to lower material 150 ft. into the gorge,” says Clark. “It’s a challenge working from that height in off-road conditions, where the terrain is not level.”
As the riverside dock area took shape and with the ringer crane in place, Clark moved out its 400-ton crane and prepared its larger Terex AC 500-2 all terrain crane for the next project phase - construction of the harbor crane. “The AC 350/6 was the right crane to get this project started,” says Clark. “It had the capacity we needed and offered easy set-up even with the project’s marginal ground conditions."
Lifting the Mist
By September of 2013, work had progressed to the point where Clark's crew was on site with the Terex AC 500-2 all terrain crane, complete with its main boom and full counterweight to erect the 200-ton harbor crane, with a 600-ton lift capacity.
Since there were no access roads leading to the dock area, the AC 500-2 crane was placed into the gorge from atop the cliff by the ringer crane. “It was lowered in two pieces, the main crane and the boom,” says Clark. “The counterweight was lowered two at a time.”
A Terex RT 655 was also placed into the gorge. “The rough terrain crane assisted with boom installation on the AC 500-2,” says Parker.
Since the ringer crane did not have the reach to extend to the river’s edge, a trailer was also positioned in the gorge to efficiently transport the harbor crane components to the edge of the water. For harbor crane construction, a total of eight components with an average weight of 70 tons were hoisted and positioned by the AC 500-2 crane. Additional components positioned by the RT 655 included the 60-ton crane base, 70-ton slewing gear, and two 70-ton floating docks.
A 90-ton capacity, 58-ft. spreader beam was placed in a tandem lift using the AC 500-2 crane and a crawler crane. “We worked at a short 30-ft. radius with the AC 500-2 crane,” says Clark. “There were no major challenges with the lifts, and we were finished with the harbor crane within two weeks.”
On Nov. 1, 2013, the two Maid of the Mist vessels were pulled from the Niagara River by the 200-ton harbor crane and placed on their newly built dry dock at the former Shoellkopf Power Station site. The site’s two new platforms – one atop of the gorge and a second alongside the Niagara River.
