54
SC&RA
JOBSOF THE YEAR
>56
ACT
MAY 2014
O
nChristmasEve last year,
NorthwestCrane ServiceLLC
ofOklahomaCity,OK, pulled
into thenatural gas processingplant in
Ft. Lupton, COwithwhat very likely
was thebiggest,most eagerly awaited
package ever deliveredon that date. The
cylindrical load itselfweighed540,000
pounds. It stretched185 feet 10 inches
andhad adiameter of 12 feet 11 inches.
The immensityof the loadnecessitated
haulingby four 600-horsepower trucks
– two topush it and two topull it. The
grossweight of the configuration tipped
the scales at over 1.19millionpounds.
The total length from truck to truckwas
427 feet 10 incheswith awidth andheight
bothhitting18 feet.
The arduous 670-mile journeyof this
demethanizer tower began threeweeks
earlier at themanufacturingplant in
Pocatello, ID. But planninghadbeen
underway sinceAugust.
The routing for this trip took the
demethanizer intoSoutheast Idaho and
thenup into themountains ofWyoming
before travelingSouth again into
Colorado,where it became theheaviest
load ever permitted in the state. Routing
complications includedminimal road
options available in these areas, aswell as
the limited turning capabilities of a load
this length.Northwest crews negotiated
seven extremely tight runs during the
haul, usually in thedeadof night.
Before travel began, route surveyors
scoutedout the areaswhile engineers
workedback and forthwith the state
for approximately twomonths, running
bridge analysis andmapping turns to
ensure that every road and corner could
be successfullymaneuvered. The chosen
route contained steep slopes of up to6
percent grade for fivemiles bothup and
downhill, aswell as narrow roads, where
the two lanes together barely exceed the
widthof the load.
Additionally, a large, humped railroad
crossing along the routeposed thedanger
of causing an interferencewith the trailer
into the load. To avoid this collision,
engineerswent toColorado and shot the
elevation changes andgrades for this area.
Once all thedatawas collected, the
trailerwas digitallyplottedonto these
grades and thepossibilityof interference
was calculatedon a computer. The
engineers correctly concluded the trailer
could safely and successfully travel across
this railroad crossing, leaving amere four
inches of clearancebetween the trailer
and the vessel. Supervisors hadbeen
notifiedwell in advance that theyhad
tobe aware and closelywatch this spot
during travel.
Weather worries
Evenunder thebest of conditions, this
wouldbe an extremely taxinghaul.
Temperatures plummeted to as low as
-21degrees Fahrenheit. Power packs
on trailerswerenot designed for such
frigid conditions, anddrivers braved
theweather towrapmotors in tarps and
todirect heat lamps at the equipment.
Winds gusted to as high as 60miles per
hour.
Weather and safetybecame evenmore
of a factorwhen a snow storm came into
the area, causing the load tobeheldup
for fivedays at the Idaho andWyoming
StateLine.After the stormpassed, the
roads remained covered in snow and too
treacherous to travel, so the states and
counties had tobe contacted toprovide
sanding and snowplows for troubled
areas.
Northwest escorts anddrivers didnot
sit idlyby andwait for the storm toblow
over. They alsoparticipated inhelping
clear the roads by salting, sanding, and
shoveling the roads themselves during the
fivedays downtime.
Once the supervisors on site felt the
roads aheadwere safe, travel resumed.
Due to the extendedweather delay,
ColoradoHighwayPatrol escorts
and inspectionhad tobe contacted
and rescheduled. In all,Northwest
coordinated its effortswith21 agencies
from the earliest planning stageuntil final
delivery.
Northwest alsoworked closelywith
Goldhofer,makers of theTHP/CA
ModularHydraulicPlatformTrailer
carrying thedemethanizer, to comeup
with equipmentmodifications thatmade
the trippossible. Thenew lineof trailer
developedbyGoldhofer for theNorth
Americanmarket included22 axle lines
anddual three-zonehydraulic suspension.
In addition to the trailer and the four
trucks required topush andpull the
configuration, the total convoy traveling
with this load at all times included four
drivers, threeNorthwest escorts, three
civilian escorts, three trailer operators,
one engineer, twohighwaypatrol and
a supervisor. The trailer operatorswere
required tomanually steer around all
corners and level across all steep inclines
anddescents.Northwest completed this
jobwithno incidents, injuries present or
DOT recordable.
■
HAULINGOVER160,000 POUNDS
(Net)
Arduous journey
Northwest Crane Service
Northwest Crane Service hauled a demethanizer
tower 670miles through frigid conditions.
