When Irving, Texas, USA-headquartered engineering and construction firm Fluor won the contract for the $548 million I-35 Capital Express South highway project it invested in two new telescopic crawler cranes to help with the work. The cranes selected? Two Link-Belt TCC 2500 telecrawlers.
Why these? The rational, according to Link-Belt, was that Fluor was seeking ‘an investment that could handle serious lifting with long-term reliability’ and the two cranes were delivered in early summer 2025 by Link-Belt dealer Holt Crane & Equipment.
SET TO WORK
The 250 ton (227 tonne) capacity cranes were set straight to work helping construct approximately nine miles of dual high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. This included constructing four elevated non-toll lanes along the I-35 highway.
Each crane logged over 500 engine hours within their first two months of use. The hard, heavy and repetitive work was often carried out overnight to minimise disruption – as the delivery of the prefabricated elevated lane components required the closure of a lane of the highway.
The TCC-2500s were located in the middle of the I-35 where they worked in tandem to unload, lift, and position prestressed concrete beams weighing up to 148,000 lb (67 tonnes).
“We bring the transport trucks [with the concrete beams] inside the lane closure,” explains Kevin Wood, a lift director at Fluor and a 32-year industry veteran. “The cranes are then hooked up, centred up, and then the crew will take them up off the truck, set them up on the caps.”
The concrete beams were lifted up to 60 feet into the air to form the elevated lanes. Showcasing the cranes’ versatility, some of these were dual lifts performed utilising the cranes’ pick and carry capabilities. This heavy, but precise, work was aided by the TCC-2500’s operator-settable fine metering controls and strong seven-section formed main boom.
LONG BOOM
“These are rugged, robust cranes,” says Wood. “They handle 170 feet of radius with ease and have the reach and capacity to set smaller precast decking just as smoothly.
“The 223 feet of greaseless main boom has really shined. It’s got quite the capacities at radius even over the taller bridge spans… that longer main boom really gets out there and makes the job easier.”
“If I ask for it it’s going to give it to me,” adds Fluor crane operator Donnel ‘DJ’ Jammer, who has been operating cranes for 28 years and was one of the operators on this job.
The TCC-2500’s capacities, Wood says, have proven ideal for reaching over the bridge caps on the dual heavy lifts.
This is particularly impressive considering the close proximity of the cranes to where they’re setting the elevated beams.
When the crew didn’t have the luxury of the night-time highway lane closure working space was at even more of a premium. “Obviously, these are larger machines,” says Wood. “During the day space was tight but at night, when we get lane closure, we can push the retaining wall out.”
Either way, operator DJ’ Jammer was happy. “You can cut it around real easy on a dime!” he grins.
Wood also noted that the TCC-2500’s robust undercarriage design allows the cranes to travel long spans along I-35 with ease. This is significant when you consider the length of the job site.
SIGHT SAFETY
As much of the work was conducted at night visibility was a key issue for safety. For Jammer the crane’s advanced camera system and in-cab display impressed providing clear real-time views of the crane’s surroundings even in low-light conditions.
“The lights are wonderful,” he says, “And the four cameras, that’s a big deal! I like to be able to see everything, especially if I’m moving quite a bit. I really like to see everything.”
Lift setup has been designed to be as easy as possible, too, on the TCC- 2500. All it takes is two taps on the Pulse 2.0 touchscreen and Jammer can select different boom extension modes, adjusting the number of telescoping sections that change the crane’s rated capacities.
The Pulse 2.0 display also allows him to monitor live ground bearing pressures and establish operator-settable alarms as needed.
OLD SCHOOL
Despite the user-friendly tech Jammer loves the ‘old school’ nature of the hydraulic machine.
“It [the TCC-2500] will let you work in between values,’ he says, “and I love that about any crane. You know, to me, that’s how they ought to be. They’re still going old school like that.”
“The machine itself is still real mechanical,” Wood concludes, “if you run wide open, the machine will run wide open for you. They’re one of the fastest cranes on the industry. Just sheer operation, everything about a Link-Belt just runs faster. Once you’re comfortable with the way a Link-Belt moves around, it’s like it’s meant to do it.”
A YouTube video of the job can be seen here.
