43
LIFTING& TRANSPORT
SITE REPORT
JANUARY 2015
ACT
largevacuum truckandbegan thedelicate
processof vacuumingdirt fromaround
theburied cars toprevent furtherdamage.
Once the loosedirtwas removed, the team
useda long-reach excavator to carefully
removeboulders that trapped the cars.
Finally, after thedebriswas cleared, they
brought the craneback topull out each
of theburied cars. ThenewTalbert trailer
was instrumental ingetting the right
machines to the jobsite.
By earlyMarch threeof the eight
PHOTO CREDIT: TOM THUMB PHOTOGRAPHY
Corvetteswere retrieved, andby early
April the final carwaspulled from the
sinkhole.
Rapidmobilization
Thedamaged carswereondisplayat the
museum “as is”before threewere taken to
aGeneralMotors facility for restoration.A
2009ZR1prototype, awhite1992model
thatwas themillionthCorvetteproduced,
anda1962 tuxedoblackCorvette,which
was theoldest cardamaged,will return to
themuseum’s Skydome lookingas good
asnew. Theother carswill return to the
display, but theywill remain in the same
condition theywere inwhen they emerged
from the sinkhole.
“TheTalbert trailer reallyhelpedus
moveall the equipment and coordinate the
job,”Baldock said. “It allowedus toquickly
mobilize cranes, excavators, long-reach
excavators, backhoes andothermaterials
weused toget the carsout.”Not including
time spent securing the foundation, the
job took16weeks to complete.
A lot has changedover theyears, but
BaldockandShockey’s friendship is as
strongas ever. Theyplanonkeeping it
thatwaybymeeting everyyear at the
NationalCorvetteMuseum.And they
still talk about equipmentwith the same
excitement theyused to in the sandbox.
“Ben sentme apictureof aCorvetteon
theTalbert trailer. Itwas reallyneat to see,”
Shockey said.
The trailer itself hasn’t seenmuch rest
sinceScott&Murphy completed the jobat
themuseum. Baldock says it’son the road
10hours aday, sometimes sixdays aweek.
As for the sinkhole, therewas a lot
of discussionaboutwhat todowith it.
The incident sparked somuchattention
that attendance at theNationalCorvette
Museumwasup70percent. Initially
theywanted tokeep the sinkhole as an
attraction, placingprotectiveglassover
it sovisitors couldwalkout and look
down into thehole.When that option
proved tobe too expensive, theydecided
to fill thehole and restore the floor to
itsoriginal state. In earlyNovember
2014, themuseum’s Skydome closed for
constructionand restoration.
Baldockandhis teamwill be there to
finish the job they started. They’ll bring
their cranes, excavators anddump trucks
back to themuseum, all on thedecksof
theirTalbert trailers.
■
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