HP 35 Trailer Mounted Hydra Platform Refurbished

Complete repair and refurbish, including welds, brackets, platform, repaint, hydraulics, etc.

Chicago Bridge Inspections

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On behalf of Anderson Crane and Bridge Technologies, Inc. and our drivers and operators, E.J., Cody and Raphael, I would like to extend our deepest appreciation to Don Childress at AECOM for making our recent Chicago experience a great success.

Anderson Crane and Bridge provides nationwide bare and operated rentals of under bridge access platforms and snooper trucks. We recently completed a contract for operated rental of our Aspen Aerial A-62, providing access to AECOM engineers for the inspection of several bridges in Chicago. Most people don’t consider the depth of work that goes into making America’s bridges safe, but the coordination of work crews, traffic control, equipment rental, bridge inspectors, DOT regulations, safety issues and OSHA regulations is just mind-boggling!

Don Childress at AECOM did an amazing job and went way above and beyond to make sure that OUR crew had all the information we needed to work and stay in Chicago. We couldn’t have been more pleased with the experience and look forward to working with AECOM in the future.

2013 ReportCard on America’s Bridges

Bridges  C⁺

Over two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation’s 102 largest metropolitan regions.   In total, one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that to eliminate the nation’s bridge deficient backlog by 2028, we would need to invest $20.5 billion annually, while only $12.8 billion is being spent currently.   The challenge for federal, state, and local governments is to increase bridge investments by $8 billion annually to address the identified $76 billion in needs for deficient bridges across the United States.

To read the report, go to: http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/bridges/overview

ACBT’s Truck-mounted Hydra Platform provides access for bridge inspection crews.

WJE, Inc. investigating bolt failure in the 17th Bridge Fencing

When the decorative fencing on the south side of the 17th Street Bridge fell onto the northbound lanes of the I-85 and I-75 connector in Atlanta, Anderson Crane and Bridge Technologies, Inc. was there to help crews from WJE, Inc., the Penhall Company and the Georgia DOT with the inspection and repair of the damages. Our 43’ Hydra Platform provided a safe work space and access beneath the bridge for engineers to inspect the bridge for structural damage. Mark Moore of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. is heading up this project and I spoke with him Thursday night as our technician Doug Adams worked late into the night operating the platform.

According to reports, it is thought that the collapse of the fencing was caused by the failure of an anchor bolt, which ultimately caused a domino effect with the remaining fence supports. Mr. Moore explained that the crew from Penhall Company was using a concrete saw to pull out a plug of concrete around the bolt hole so that it could be taken back to WJE’s laboratory for testing to determine what caused the bolt to fail.
I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of our bridge inspection equipment on top of the bridge. I’ve been marketing for our company for a long time, but this was the first time I actually got to see one of our platforms in action. When I say that we will have your crews working in minutes, I am not exaggerating a bit. Doug positioned the HP43 truck next to the concrete wall and had the hydraulic platform raised and over the side of the bridge in less than three minutes. The crew then climbs down through an enclosed space onto the platform. The unit is designed to provide access alongside or beneath the bridge and in this case the bolt holes for the fencing were in the concrete barrier wall. The platform lifts, rotates and extends over the low barrier wall, and is then positioned parallel to the bridge fascia and brought in close so the crews could easily reach their target.

We can facilitate bridge inspections, repair, and rehabilitation and these units are perfect for installing fencing, lighting, railings or conduit alongside or beneath bridges. We carry 23’ to 66’ inspection platforms for rent nationwide and we will train your operators or provide one for you. Take a look at our website http://www.inspectabridge.com for more information on what we have to offer.

17th Street Bridge in Midtown Atlanta

How's that for service? Our operator Doug Adams holds a flashlight for the crew!

Doug Adams

Ceremony Marks Hoover Dam Bridge Completion

US transportation ceremony Ray LaHood dedicated the new bridge at the Hoover Dam yesterday watched by more than 1,000 workers who had helped to build it.

The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which opens to traffic next week, is a single-span concrete arch high above the Colorado River. The 580m bridge is part of a US$240 million four-lane bypass that will reroute traffic from a two-lane bottleneck crossing the Hoover Dam.

“This magnificent bridge is proof positive that America is not afraid to dream big,” said LaHood. “The jobs supported by this project are undeniable, and its economic benefits to the American Southwest and the nation as a whole will be felt for generations to come.”

Celebrations continue tomorrow when large crowds are expected at an event where they will have the opportunity to walk across the bridge.

Milestones

milestone [ˈmaɪlˌstəʊn] n
1. (Engineering / Civil Engineering) a stone pillar that shows the distance in miles to or from a place
2. a significant event in life, history, etc.

It is no coincidence that I recently embarked on a cross-country trip during a year that marks a number of significant milestones for me. On September 9, 2010, I will turn 50 years old. Half a century of living, when I could swear it was just a few years ago that I crossed the quarter mark. Of course, you know what they say…the first thing that goes is your memory.

So, August found me in my RV, towing an empty trailer from our summer home in New York to the wilds of Nevada. Business has been good and I decided to splurge a bit on a car I found on Ebay…a 1966 Mercedes 230 SL Convertible. It’s a great little car, road-ready and sporty and I’m already driving it around Atlanta. I struggled with the notion of buying myself a sports car, but I’m taking Jay Leno’s advice: “It’s okay to collect cars.” Happy Birthday to me!

This was a working trip, however, and I made several stops along the way, both to visit ongoing projects and to make some sales calls in places like Oklahoma City, where bridge projects abound. The great thing about the car being in Nevada was that we already had a big job going on out there. Obayashi is working on the Hoover Dam Bridge and we are supplying three Hydra under bridge access platforms for their work. Never one to miss an opportunity, I decided to visit the bridge from the air and take some photos. The helicopter ride was amazing and I got some great shots. I’ve posted a few here, but there are more on our Facebook page and website, http://www.inspectabridge.com.

To say that this experience was awe-inspiring is a bit like saying the Hoover Dam makes a nice little pond. Viewing the marvels of mankind – the dam itself and the spectacular bridge they are building – in a setting designed by the greatest Creator of all – is a show unto itself. To steal someone else’s marketing slogan: PRICELESS! It will go down as probably the most thrilling ride of my life.

Speaking of thrilling rides, this past year has been tremendous for our company. We are at 100% rental of our equipment and scrambling to find more to meet the demand. We are marking milestones right and left. We have opened a full-service shop in Lithia Springs and opened a brand new office in Norcross, Georgia, having outgrown the office services we had contracted to handle our business for several years. All is going well and we are excited about the year to come.

Our family is growing: My sister Cassie, who manages sales and operations for the company, has welcomed three new grandbabies to our family in the past year and a half, which is a good thing, since she is about to experience some serious Empty Nest Syndrome. After 34 years of raising children, her baby girl Emily is headed for college in Cleveland, Tennessee, majoring in music. Brother Jim Dandridge had another successful golf tournament to benefit local charities in the Lakeland/Plant City area. Tribute to Life honors his son Nicholas who passed away almost two years ago, and his boss’s daughter Brooke McDonald who tragically was killed just two months before Nick.

It has definitely been a year of milestones in our lives and we are marking them as we go. Keeping in mind that life is a journey and not a destination, we are trying not to miss anything along the way. Lord knows, we are enjoying the ride.

Pat

Inspection over Cape Fear River

This job used a UB 50 to thread through a truss bridge on Hwy 11 over the Cape Fear River. An HP 32 platform was used for the railed portions of the bridge.

2010 Under Bridge Access Platforms

Anderson Crane & Bridge Technologies Inc. has two new 66′ reach Hydra Platform truck-mounted under bridge work platforms to cover all bridge access needs. We offer all our units with operators or bare rental. We deliver directly to your jobsite and train your operators.  Access beside or beneath bridges from one lane directly atop the bridge deck.

Please visit www.inspectabridge.com  for all the details.

Call Pat Dandridge 770 315 6993 for rental rates.