04.02.2007

Crane falls during tandem lift

A lattice boomed truck crane fell from an overpass while lifting a large I-Beam in a tandem lift with another crane in Billings Montana last week.

The two cranes were working on the bridge over rail tracks north of Interstate 90 when the tandem lift went wrong and one crane fell onto the railway line from the eastbound lanes of the highway above.
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The crane fell from the overpass when a tandem lift went wrong

No one was injured in the accident, the operator, Richard Potter, 53, managed to crawl free from his cab.

A witness to the accident said “it looked like a crane at the south side of the overpass hoisted its boom too high, pulling the concrete I-beam away from the second crane, causing it to fall”.

There was apparently no damage done to the rail tracks. Sletten Construction is responsible for the project which involves the widening of four bridges from two to three lanes each, and was ahead of schedule when the accident occurred.