Bigge completes BART project

Bigge Crane and Rigging has assisted in the completion of a 3.2-mile stretch of San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, linking Oakland International Airport to the rest of San Francisco.

The BART Oakland Airport Connector links the Coliseum station and Oakland Airport. Bigge worked on the aboveground section of the route, lifting the track sections and fixing them to the concrete towers lining Hegenberger Rd.

Using a Grove GMK6350 all-terrain six-axle crane with 124 ft (38 m) of boom and 220,400 lb (100 tonnes) of counterweight, Bigge assisted in lifting the track trestles into place on the concrete towers. Each trestle section weighed 130,000 lb (60 tonnes) and was nearly the length of a football field. The trestle sections were brought in on a Bigge-operated trailer and were lifted, rotated, and set on the concrete columns along the route. In addition to the GMK6350, Bigge brought in a Link-Belt HC86100 hydraulic truck crane, which was used to assist with other facets of the project.

The BART Connector Project is one part of a US$ 350 million dollar makeover of Oakland International. It is expected to start operating in spring of 2014.

The BART system serves San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco and the East Bay.