Making Short Work of a Shortcut

Enlarge Image The Grove GMK 7550 all-terrain hydraulic crane was the perfect choice for a short lift, such as this 130-foot fishing bridge in a Utah city park.

July 26, 2006 -- The Jensen Nature Park in Syracuse City, Utah, is one step closer to completion, now that 80-acre park's fishing ponds have a bridge. Thanks to Wagstaff Crane Service and its Grove GMK 7550 hydraulic crane, both fishermen and pedestrians will have a scenic shortcut across the waters.

 

Although not the heaviest bridge Wagstaff ever placed, the 70,000-pound steel and wood pedestrian bridge is the longest the Salt Lake City, Utah, company has ever tackled. The 130-foot structure arrived in two pieces, says Jim Wagstaff, company manager, and was spliced together onsite before the 550-ton all-terrain crane lifted it and set it in place across a reservoir.

 

“We just had to put extra blocking under the outriggers because we were working on soft ground near the water,” says Wagstaff. “We've lifted heavier bridges than that, but it was the longest.”

 

He says Grove's flagship model was “the perfect crane” because of the short lift. On a one-day job such as this, the crane saved the company on mobilization costs. “In fact, the City waited three weeks until the crane was freed up from another job,” adds Wagstaff.

 

The GMK 7550 is part of the company's regular duty rental fleet, and runs the gamut of construction projects. The crane rental company serves Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada, and its fleet is made up entirely of Grove cranes. Wagstaff says it boils down to their history with Grove and H&E Equipment, their Grove dealer in Salt Lake City. “We just started with Grove, we've always liked them, and we've never really gone away from them.”