TCC-1400 endures arctic temps in Chicago

Kelly Tractor’s 140-ton capacity Link-Belt TCC-1400 telescopic crawler crane worked through extremely cold temperatures to complete foundation work for Case Foundation Company in Chicago. The job required the TCC-1400 to lift caisson pipes measuring up to 64 feet long for the foundation of a new $150 million-plus residential, parking and retail development adjacent to Wrigley Field in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of northern Chicago.

A consistent production schedule of six caissons per day began each morning at 7 a.m. in the sub-zero environment last winter. Two drilling rigs, an IMT AF250 and Bauer BG36, were used on site to auger up to 5 feet diameter shafts. Once the TCC-1400 lowered the pipes into their shafts, 6,000 to 10,000 psi concrete filled the newly poured shafts.

Breaking free

The TCC-1400 was the ideal machine for the brute pulling force after concrete was set, using the main boom and a 6-part line for full break out force. Up to 90,000 pounds of pulling power was needed by the TCC-1400 to loosen and break free the concrete-encased caisson pipes from the clay and hardpan. The heaviest caissons and ancillary lifts were up to 20,000 pounds, which the crane handled using its whip line.

The two drilling units typically worked at opposite ends of the 2.3 acre job site, meaning the TCC-1400 was busy going back and forth between the two rigs, staging caissons for removal from the site and supplying new ones for new holes. The TCC-1400 only had about 85 feet of boom scoped out when lifting the caissons out of the ground. The crane’s boom was scoped out to 100 feet while laying the caissons down in a storage area.

In total, the TCC-1400 lowered and lifted 198 caisson pipes in negative 12 degree Fahrenheit weather over the course of several weeks for the new project’s foundation.

The Link-Belt TCC-1400 features a six section pin and latch boom that telescopes 42.4 to 195.4 feet. The crane is 11.8 feet tall, 11.9 feet wide and 432.8 feet long with an operating weight of 233,000 pounds. It offers a gradeability of 40 percent.