The historic Break Water on Lake Champlain in the city of Burlington, VT, is undergoing a $2.3-million rehabilitation. Durocher Dock & Dredge Inc., a worldwide marine contractor, is handling approximately 350 ft. (107 m) of the structure and Woods CRW has provided equipment for the job.
Repair work on the Break Water had been proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, owners of the Break Water. As the federal agency responsible for the overall preservation of the Break Water, the Corps conducted a cultural-research survey which included historic, as well as underwater information viable to the project.
According to Stan Neff, vice president of Durocher, the project is largely a stone job. “The existing Break Water is old and dates back to the mid-1800s,” said Neff. “The construction of the Break Water correlated with the development of the city of Burlington, VT, and is considered a good example of 19th century timber crib construction. The cribbing of the Break Water is currently deteriorating in a number of locations, due to ice and the age of the structure. We are repairing the damage in several areas and, at the same time, maintaining the historic appearance of it.”
The sections of the Break Water being repaired include the southern and northern ends of the South Break Water, and the northern end of the North Break Water. These repairs comprise 340 ft. (104 m) of the span which is 8 percent of the 4,175 ft. (1,273 m) length of the structure.
The proposed repair work will include removing limited portions of damaged cribbing, applying a layer of core stone and armoring the core stones with cap stones. The failing sections of the vertical timber crib, now exposed along most of the harbor side of the structure, will be covered with sloping stones similar to those now found on the lake side of the structure. The initial phase of the repair work is expected to be completed this year.
The equipment used on the job site include two barges, a tugboat, a Link-Belt LS 218H-II crane leased from Woods CRW, and a small Volvo L-45 loader.
The loader is being used on the barge along with the crane for positioning and pushing some of the larger pieces of stone.
The Link-Belt LS 218H-II is a duty-cycle, 110-ton (99 t) crane, which has a 120-ft. (37 m) boom equipped with a Hawco rock grapple. The new crane answers the needs of many contractors with an increase in load capabilities. Other features include a new arm, single-axis operator controls, automatic boom hoist and load line brakes, operator selected free-fall, quick draw boom, counter rake and crawler handling system.
Boyd Heaton, engineer of Durocher, said an advantage that Durocher found in renting this machine from Woods CRW is that they were able to set the crane up in a single day. This netted substantial savings because it would ordinarily take two additional people, one other piece of equipment and two additional days to set a standard crane in position for a job like this.
“We were also happy with the crane because of its extreme ease of operation,” said Heaton. “We had no difficulty finding someone to operate this type of crane. Our younger operators particularly enjoy the joystick operation of the crane. We had a crane that would have done this job located in Florida, but it would have been a long haul to bring it up. After shopping around, we found the Link-Belt at Woods CRW, which saved us the tremendous cost of hauling our own crane up from Florida.”
As the project progresses, 25,000 tons (2,250 t) of stone will be placed in the water for the repair work. The Link-Belt is extremely useful in this operation. Because of its compact size, it takes up much less space than other cranes, yet it has tremendous reach and weight capability. Heaton mentioned that the Link-Belt crane operates one-third times faster than the older type of friction cranes that his company used in the past.
Durocher usually uses Volvo loaders in its construction applications. Again, it utilizes a Volvo loader leased from Woods CRW because it is “definitely our loader of choice because they are easy to operate and very fuel efficient.” Durocher’s Volvo 120B loader handles the material stockpiled at the loading dock.
Another rental used on the project was the 38,000 lb. (17,236 kg) Volvo EC-150 excavator. It was equipped with a 2,000-lb. (907 kg) Stanley hammer. This set-up was taken to the site and used to break up several concrete towers that needed to be removed from the structure.
Boyd Heaton commented that he has had extremely good service from Woods CRW and everything the company has rented from them has operated virtually trouble-free. That’s a great testimony to the Link-Belt cranes and the Volvo loaders and mini-excavators.
“On the rare occasion that we need Woods CRW, they’re just a phone call away and are able to be on site within minutes,” Heaton stated.
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