December 6, 2005:
Raising the Grace span from Town Creek
Well, what started as a major disaster for me (overwriting the 2 sec video of
the morning blast) - finished with a big big smile. Mickey reminded me
(Advanced Blasting Services) - of the afternoon retrieval (unblasting)
which I managed to forget - of course, if you drop the segment in the am -
then you must undrop it in the pm. So
here is the story - and the conditions could not have been better - nice
evening light, Gary and Sparky and Bud, the to-be-lit Ravenel in the background
and the opportunity to practice night photography.
I did manage to get some video this evening without overwriting it. Here
are two segments:
Here is the setup - The Grace cantilever section to the left, a
(I-did-not-know-what-to-call-it-then)
twin boom floating derrick for lifting, a red crane
for helping and lots of friends. I now know the name of the
yellow twin boom derrick.
Many thanks to Mr. Oswalt, part owner of
Charleston Heavy Lift
who sent me a wonderful calendar and some technical information about
their twin boom crane. It has a lifting capacity of 450 tons when the
boom angle is 81.15 degrees. Here, I would guess that the boom angle is
about 60 degrees - which has a slightly less (435 tons) lifting
capacity.
A closer view of the lift bar and attached cables - just like picking
a girder - except under water
The light was fantastic - so another view of the setup
and a closer view of the lift bar and cables
Ever watch the evening sun reflecting on the Ravenel Bridge? I could
not resist
A closer view - with all the cooks, chiefs, bottle washers and cheerleaders
Someone forgot to turn the Ravenel lights on
The beginning of the lift
Look closely on the left and you'll see rods poking up through the water
and one of the white buoys behind them
Lifting a bit more
and a closer look - and now the Ravenel lights are on
More lifting - and there was a small problem. Something was binding
one end of the Grace structure - so the barge was rotated, thus
rotating the segment and unbinding it from whatever -
then more lifting
Sparky got a better contrast
and more lifting
and a closer look at the lifting
Now you can see the floor girder structure
And here, the section is completely out of the water
Enter the barge (from stage left) for receiving Grace -
Rotating the barge
and lowering Grace onto the barge
From Sparky's position, you can see the fragments that need to be cut
Cutting a few fragments to promote a soft landing
Sparky got a better shot of the cutting
then down
down
And from Sparky's location - a better view
and now in the sleeping position
and as seen by Sparky
A last look - time to go home - and good night and good luck