They say that "where there's a will there's a way," and nobody proved that better than LJ Crane and Rigging. Last fall, the Rhode Island-based company faced a challenging delivery while moving its Manitowoc 2250, 300-ton crawler crane into Fenway Park — home of the Boston Red Sox.
LJ Crane and Rigging had to haul all components for the 2250 on 18 low-bed trailers through a narrow alleyway and then through a small 12-foot-high door in the ballpark's outfield wall.
Lifting box up and over the wall to be hauled away
Once in the ballpark, LJ Crane was limited to a small area in the outfield for assembling the crawler crane. A team of seven put the crane together over a period of two, eight-hour evening shifts. LJ Crane also brought their 100-ton Grove all terrain crane and two Grove hydraulic truck cranes into Fenway to assist in the assembly.
Rhode Island-based steel erector Capco Steel rented LJ Crane's Manitowoc 2250 to set the steel and pre-cast concrete for 850 new seats on the ballpark's first and third base lines.
For the project, LJ Crane's Manitowoc 2250 was also equipped with 300 feet of main boom, including a long-reach top. The long-reach top gives the 2250 stronger capacity for lifts at a long radius. This configuration also allows the Manitowoc 2250 to unload materials off trucks stationed outside the park as well as set the materials for the new seating. The Manitowoc was purchased from Shawmut Equipment Co. of Manchester, Connecticut and Norfolk, Massachusetts.
Crane with spreader-beam that took light towers down.
LJ Manager, Josh Wilbur said the most challenging part of the job was getting the crane into the park because many said it could not be done. Wilbur pointed out that using the 2250 instead of the smaller cranes saved considerable time and money on the job.
