No Injuries

Thankfully the operator was not injured when his Pile Drive flipped over, but it must have been a hell of a ride. This happened at a bridge replacement project in Peterborough, NH. I’m guessing the the operator traveled down the access path with his counterweight on the wrong side. Physics took over and it flipped.

The Bridge Replacement Project

The bridge replacement project is quite impressive. The river has been re-directed and when I was there they were using a crane to remove large metal concrete forms. Just to add a bit of complexity. The town library is being rebuilt. It is adjacent to the bridge.

Loose Gravel

Would you drive your family Volvo down this path? How about a heavy SoilMec R-930  with a huge metal boom attached? Looks a little sketchy to me. How about another view.

We are Gonna Need a Bigger Crane

What is the solution? In the next couple of weeks a larger crane will be brought in to extract the R-930. There are more pilings to drive so hopefully a better temporary access road will be built. I will try to be on the scene when this takes place.

The Engineer & the Crane Operator

The gentlemen on the left is an engineer and to his right is a retired crane operator with over 50 years of experience. They had plenty to say about this situation. I learned that apparently cranes topple all the time. I’m just pleased that it didn’t happen when they used a crane to remove some of my trees when they were building my garage.

I expect to see these guys during the extraction process. Stay tuned for updates.