Posted on August 14, 2018
On the night of Monday, Aug. 6, 2018, drivers in the Theodore area southwest of Mobile experienced a few delays and detours as a massive piece of industrial equipment was moved from the facility where it was built. Here’s a look behind the scenes of that big move.
As dusk approached on Monday, Aug. 7, preparations for a big move were under way at an SPI/Mobile Pulley Works facility on Bellingrath Road in the Theodore area southwest of Mobile.
Workers from Mammoet USA were preparing to move a giant dredge “ladder” from SPI to the Theodore Industrial Canal, were it was to be loaded onto a barge for shipment to Louisiana.
The ladder is the major structural component that connects the business end of a dredge (which will go on the end at right) to the ship that carries and operates it. The pivot points at left allow the ladder to be raised and lowered once it is connected to the ship.
Ben Kling, SPI shop foreman, said this ladder represented eight or nine months’ work. He said it was 140 feet long, 11 feet high and 22-1/2 feet wide. It weighs 642,000 pounds (321 tons). When all components are attached during its installation, it’ll weigh about 1 million pounds, he said.
Shop foreman Kling and SPI owner Billy Prine said that the ladder is the largest single component to be transported out of the facility. The company has build larger dredges, but they’ve been shipped in sections and assembled at their destination. However, the record might not stand for long: The company has a contract to manufacture an even bigger one.
Equipment stands ready as Mammoet prepares the move. The ladder was to be transferred a short distance up Bellingrath Road and then east on Industrial Road/Evonik Road to Rangeline Road, and from there to a Core Industries dock on the Theodore Industrial Canal.
SPI owner Billy Prine is shown with the ladder on its 192-wheel trailer. “To move this about three miles? About $100,000,” he said.
SPI shop foreman Ben Kling, left, and owner Billy Prine look over a rendering of how the dredge ladder will look after all components are installed.
SPI also built many of the pumps, motors and other components that will be added to the arm to turn it into a functioning dredge unit.
SPI workers pose for one last time with their work.
As night fell, Mammoet was almost ready to go. In addition to one truck pulling the gigantic load from the front, another was hooked up to push from behind.
With both trucks hooked up and final adjustments made to the elaborate suspension system on the trailer, it was time for the move to begin.
The ladder is moved from the back lot of SPI’s manufacturing facility to the front.
As it passed through the gate at the front of SPI’s manufacturing area, the ladder had just a few inches of clearance on either side.
A ground grew keeps a close eye on clearance as the big load moves through a narrow gateway.
SPI owner Prine said the dredge ladder is bound for Belle Chasse, La., where C&C Marine is building the ship that will hold it. Prine said the ship as a whole is about a $50 million project, and the dredge unit is more than a quarter of that total cost.
SPI owner Prine keeps a close eye as the movers prepare for a sharp turn onto Bellingrath Road. It was a little after 9 p.m. when the big load hit the road.
The lead truck moves onto Bellingrath Road. Behind it, the trailer rotates crabwise to ease the bend, thanks to the fact that its many wheels can be steered.
Worker used wooden platforms and blocks to form a bridge over a ditch in front of SPI, effectively widening the company’s driveway so that the massive load could make the turn. Individual wheels rose and fell as they negotiated their way over the bridge.
As the pushing truck prepares to move onto Bellingrath Road, a swath of tire tracks show the trailer’s passage. On Tuesday morning, Mammoet reported to county officials that the move had gone off without a hitch and preparations were under way to transfer the load to a barge. County Engineer Bryan Kegley said of the effort, “It’s the largest load I’ve ever seen cross over our roads.”
Source: AL.com
