A Potain HDT 80 self-erecting crane is playing an important role in constructing a six-story addition to Harvard University’s historic Hasty Pudding Theater, in Cambridge, Mass. Built in 1887, the theater is an important part of the campus and is the home of Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals, a prestigious fraternity started in 1795.

Harvard University officials required that the existing facade of the building remain and that the addition take place at the back of the building. This posed serious construction challenges, since there is no street access to the new construction area. However, the Potain HDT 80 was a perfect fit for this urban job site.

Daniel Koury Construction, Warwick, RI-based steel erector on the job, leased the HDT 80 from Marr Equipment, a Boston rental equipment firm. Potain distributor Shawmut Equipment provided the crane to Marr Equipment.

Kevin O’Connell, Shawmut’s self-erecting crane product manager, said modifying the crane’s jib increased its capacity.

“With full jib the HDT 80 has 148 feet of reach and can pick just under 1.5 tons,” he said. “But in this application, we removed the last section of the jib reducing its length to 102 feet, which increased the capacity to 3 tons.”

The HDT 80 enabled the team to lift steel beams into place for the above-ground portion of the project. The original intention was to place a larger crane in the street, and then lift, and swing steel beams over the existing building to the construction site in the back.

However, this was not acceptable to the city of Cambridge because it would require shutting down the narrow one-way street in front of the theater. Eventually, contractors maneuvered the Potain HDT 80 through a narrow alley so it could be set up in the courtyard behind the existing building. The HDT 80 was the best solution because of its size, capacity, and reach, O’Connell.

“Steel erection is not a typical application for these self-erectors,” he said. “But with some minor reconfiguration the HDT 80 performed the job tremendously well. The only lifting solution that had a small enough footprint and the height and reach required for the job was the HDT 80. The crane was able to set the steel for the addition and swing over the existing theater to unload trucks in the street from a single location.”

Work on the theater is expected to be completed in the summer of 2007.

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