Spotlight Rigging

Thinking Outside the Rigging Box on a Pedestrian Bridge Project M

ore crane end users and contractors are being asked to work at night on transportation construction projects. That makes having the right sling for the job critical. Just as crucial to success is matching the right sling to the right sling protection device. After eight years of working to secure funding, last August a pedestrian bridge project was realized, with the help of a trustworthy sling, and some thinking outside the rigging box. The Wolf Trap Bike/Pedestrian Bridge over the Dulles Toll Road will soon connect the two main facilities at the Wolf Trap National Park for The Performing Arts in Vienna, Va. The Barns and Filene Center have long been separated by a narrow road with no sidewalks that had for many years been a safety concern not only for local travel but also for the roughly 500,000 visitors to the park each season. According to the project bid description, the construction of a 525-foot-long pedestrian access bridge over the Dulles Access Highway and Dulles Toll Road had to be performed at night. The work included construction of a three-span, steel truss bridge with an asphalt multi-use trail, grading, concrete sidewalk, drainage improvements, utility work, and other miscellaneous work. It took a total of three nights to put the bridge sections into place. Under sophisticated illumination, crews worked through the night on April 3, as the first and largest of three bridge sections, measuring 170 feet at a weight of 140,000 pounds, was placed. Wolf Trap area residents gathered before sunrise to watch the lifts and celebrate a safer passage. The Rigging Box, Lorton, Va., supplied four FIRST Sling FHPZ 70 high-performance roundslings, each measuring 40 feet in length, rated at 70,000 pounds vertical, and weighing only 42 pounds.
The Rigging Boxs patent-pending Edge Lifters were used to protect FIRST Sling Inspectable Roundslings on the pedestrian bridge project.

Specifying the slings

The Inspectable Roundsling, which has a transparent clear cover, was developed by First Sling, Mustang, Okla., to make it possible for riggers to inspect the load bearing core yarns within the sling. Two 70,000-pound high-performance roundslings were rigged at each end of a bridge section, explained Linda Summars, president of First Sling. The slings were ordered based on the weight and angle of the load, she said. Phil Garber, product advisor for The Rigging Box, a First Sling distributor, said that he was proud to be a part of this project. It was so well planned and I was so impressed by the overall organization. The Rigging Box manufactured 20" x 4' Edge Lifters for edge protection of the First Sling Inspectable Roundslings. The patent24 CRANE & RIGGING HOT LINE

pending edge protection sleeves were designed to protect the slings as they surrounded the bridge sections. We had to do some edge protection because they were choking around the end piece of the bridge section itself, explained Garber. Its a sleeve made of Kevlar material and Cordura. We custom-make edge Two 70,000-pound high-perprotectors and we formance Inspectable Rounddeveloped this type of slings were rigged at each end material some time ago, of a bridge section. but this is the rst time weve ever developed a product on this scale. According to owner Selina Conrad, this project is typical of the type of work The Rigging Box does. Were often called on to come up with protection products. A good customer of ours asked me to come up with a sling, and we came up with the First Sling product because we believe in that sling. It doesnt need any what we call sling jewelry. We felt this was the safest sling to use in this application because of the qualities it does have. The Rigging Boxs shop then created the extra-strength Edge Lifter wear pads specically for this particular lift because of the way the slings were to be connected to the bridge sections. They had to have something durable and exible because of the edges on the span material, said Conrad, who opened the companys 8,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in 2007. The company also has a 1,000 sq. ft. training facility, in addition to 1,500 sq. ft. of oce space. According to the companys website, it believes having the manufacturing process onsite guarantees better control over materials used in fabrication. The website states the company can customize slings or lift designs, and with the use of First Sling technology and tagging system, can add a serial number to each tag for tracking purposes. In addition to manufacturing and training, The Rigging Box also oers inspection services, either at the customers location or in the company facility, which is equipped with a Roberts proof test bed. Inspection training classes, held at the companys facility, oer riggers the opportunity to see the fabrication process. The company will also perform test breakage after training classes to teach riggers the sounds to listen for if there should be a sling failure on site. This approach not only shows them proper fabrication, but can help them locate any possible defects in a sling either new or old, said Conrad. I believe this is a great learning tool for everyone, either in the oce, from the buyer, or the end user.
July 2012 www.craneandrigginghotline.com