In 2019, the Seattle city council reached an agreement on funding the largest new development in the city’s history – a $1.6 billion expansion of the Washington State Convention Center. Joint venture Clark-Lewis (formed between Clark Construction and Lease Crutcher Lewis) was awarded a $960 million construction contract for the project.
Garco Construction of Spokane, Washington, will complete initial foundation work for the 1,500,000 sq. ft. expansion. Garco has recently acquired two additional Link-Belt Cranes for the project, a 110-ton TCC-1100 and a 200-ton 248 HSL from Triad Machinery, the Pacific Northwest Link-Belt distributor. In addition to their crane purchases, Garco rents several other cranes from Triad Machinery including a 75-ton TCC-750, 120-ton TCC-1200, and 110-ton 218 HSL.
The 218 HSL and TCC-1100 cranes primarily lift rebar and forms on-site, with the TCC-1200 and 248 HSL mainly used for the foundation – lagging with soldier piles and pouring concrete for walls. The deepest point of excavation will be 75 ft. below street level.
“The 248HSL is pretty smooth function-wise for being a good-size crane – it functions fast, whether booming up or booming down – and it swings really well. We do a lot of ironwork, and with ironworkers, it’s quick production. We have a 218; it’s like a Corvette, but this (248 HSL) is like a turbo boss. The winches are really nice, the motors, you can really dial it down, send out just a quarter of an inch of payout,” said Jerry Wilson, 248 HSL operator for Garco.
“There’s a lot of consistency needed for keeping two different rebar companies and four carpenter crews busy — and that’s exactly what this crane has done for the last six months,” said Wilson.
Garco has quickly put nearly 2,000 hours on their 248 HSL by running the crane six or seven days a week for 10 to 12 hours along with a night shift of eight to 10 hours.
“The TCC-1200 is a workhorse of a crane. It is super simple and easy-to-use the Pulse system. It has a great chart for all types of applications. We use it to swing light loads of iron and heavy CONEX boxes weighing up to 30,000 lbs. on a daily basis," said Jared Neuert, TCC-1200 operator for Garco. "We are working in a tight environment with limited space, so the ability to telescope the boom and walk around the jobsite has really increased efficiencies. Being able to move around the jobsite without worrying about outrigger pads makes production planning so much faster."
The crew is also responsible for the logistics of Olive Way, the active downtown street rerouted around the perimeter of the project during construction. Upon completion, Olive Way will become a corridor running below the bottom floor of the new convention center. The convention center project is scheduled for spring 2022 completion.
