Link-Belt crawlers for convention center expansion

Garco Construction of Spokane, WA is hard at work completing initial foundation work for a 1,500,000 square foot expansion taking place on the Washington State Convention Center. The $1.6 billion expansion is the largest new development in Seattle’s history. 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 cranes primarily lift rebar and forms on-site, with 218 HSL, TCC-1100, and 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 feet 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, said Jerry Wilson, 248 operator for Garco. “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.”

Garco has quickly put nearly 2,000 hours on their 248 HSL by running the crane six or seven days a week for 10-12 hours along with a night shift of 8 to 10 hours.

“The TCC-1200 is a workhorse of a crane,” said Jared Neuert, TCC-1200 operator for Garco. “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 lb. (13 607 kg) on a daily basis. 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.