Ed Bell Construction Adds New Link-Belt 75RT
December 7, 2018 - Ed Bell Construction Inc., of Dallas, has been paving with concrete in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex since 1963.
In the early 2000s, Bell expanded its range of work to include bridges, using its existing fleet of 50-ton rough terrain cranes.
In the second quarter of 2018, Ed Bell Construction increased its lifting capacity by buying a 75-ton Link-Belt 75RT rough-terrain crane to handle the larger, heavier loads seen in modern road and bridge work. The purchase also was Bell’s first step in modernizing some of its aging crane fleet.
To keep pace with its fast-moving operations, Bell transports its cranes from job to job with its own fleet of heavy-haul trailers.
“Our equipment doesn’t get hauled to a job and stay there for the duration. It gets hauled to a job with our own heavy haul trucks, completes the assigned task, and leaves for the next project,” explained Terry Killingsworth, structures manager at Ed Bell Construction.
“Getting a bigger, 75-ton crane with basically the same footprint as our older 50-ton rigs gives us better capabilities without retraining our current operators who are all certified up to 75 ton,” Killingsworth said.
Current Projects
The $30 million Interstate 20/Center Point Road Interchange is a multi-year project received by Ed Bell Construction that includes new exit and entrance ramps, three new bridges, and redirection of three miles of two-way frontage roads for improved mobility and safety. On this job, the Link-Belt 75RT lifts 6,000-lb. bundles of rebar, large concrete form panels, concrete buckets, and drainage culverts along both sides of Interstate 20.
Additional job requirements for the 75RT include lifting concrete finishers onto and off of concrete bridge decks, and handling new, 23,000-lb., Texas Department of Transportation traffic barriers placed along right-of-ways.
Operator Gabriel Corral says he likes the tilt cab because it eases the stiffness in his neck from working on high bridge projects all day. Also, Corral likes the 75RT’s smooth operation and quick swinging. He says he has already taken advantage of both boom modes and the fine metering system.
Corral said that when working around people with a heavy load, he uses the slowest mode to make sure his crew working around the lift stays safe. He also likes being able to change fine metering control positions to suit whichever operator is using it.
“I like that the machine’s LMI system has a working memory so when it is left it remembers all of your settings, and picks right back up where you left it,” Corral said.
