Groves chosen for Lake Bastrop Dam refurb

As part of a project that will see parts of the 4,000ft-long dam repaired or improved, the RT530E-2 was needed to place stop logs to prevent water escaping the dam during testing of the floodgates.

However with no access route to the 50-year-old dam suitable for heavy machinery, Texas Crane Services decided the crane would have to approach the dam, and complete the job, using a barge.

Texas Crane Services senior vice president, Sterling Frymire, explained: “We had a few meetings at the lake to determine how we could get a crane close enough to the dam to move the logs. Once we saw it was impossible to reach the dam from land, we decided to use the rough-terrain crane on the barge.”

To accomplish this, the San Antonio-based firm chose its most powerful crane, a newly acquired GMK 7550, to lift the 30t RT onto the barge, from which the RT would be able to replace the stop logs.

From its position on the banks of the Colorado River the 550t crane had to be rigged with its full complement of counterweight of 132USt to achieve a working radius of 105ft with 148ft of main boom, a process sped up by the crane’s hydraulic counterweight rigging system.

Featuring a 197ft five-section boom and available with an 82ft–259ft luffing jib, the GMK 7550 is currently the most powerful crane in the Manitowoc Grove all terrain fleet.

As demonstrated by this job, Frymire believes that the crane will be a vital addition to the firm’s fleet.

“We’re very excited about the new markets we’ll be able to serve with the higher-capacity crane. Customer demands for capacity and reach are only increasing, and we expect to keep this crane very busy,” he adds.