Maryland company hit a home run a new D.C. ballpark, too
Crane Service Company used a Kenworth T800 to haul the 236-foot main boom of its 300-ton hydraulic truck crane to the construction site of the new Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals.(Courtesy Kenworth Truck Co.)
The Trucker News Services
5/8/2008
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Washington Nationals fans couldn’t help but smile when third baseman Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth earned a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the inaugural game of the team’s new stadium in Washington.
It’s much the same feeling Crane Service Co. Vice President Brian Mazzella had several months earlier after his firm used Kenworth trucks to successfully deliver major components of its 300-ton hydraulic crane to the construction site of Nationals Park.
“When we moved our largest hydraulic crane, it was raining at the site,” Mazzella said. “They don’t have rainouts when it comes to construction, so our trucks had to have the power and maneuverability to haul the crane’s boom and its counterweights up a 100-yard long incline. We faced some very muddy conditions, but the Kenworth trucks got the boom and counterweights to the job site without any problems.”
Mazzella said Kenworth trucks offer his company a high degree of reliability when it comes to moving cranes and equipment, which is particularly important in high-profile projects like Nationals Park. Kenworth trucks also help Crane Service avoid the downtime and high maintenance costs his company suffered before it started spec’ing Kenworth trucks five years ago.
Based in Upper Marlboro, Md., Crane Service Co. is a fourth-generation, family-owned and operated company that serves the Washington area, Virginia and Maryland. The company, which was started by Mazzella’s great uncle in 1926, has also provided heavy hoisting, rigging and hauling services for construction projects at the Jefferson Memorial, National Cathedral, Pentagon and U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
“There’s just no comparison with the power and dependability that we get from Kenworth trucks,” said Mazzella, whose company’s fleet features 10 Kenworth T800s. “They’re built and spec’d to handle heavy loads, plus they offer drivers the maneuverability needed to get in and out of job sites without a lot of trouble. Central Truck Center, our local Kenworth dealer, also keeps them well maintained so that we have very minimal downtime.”
To haul the 236-foot main boom of its 300-ton hydraulic truck crane to the construction site, the company used a Kenworth T800 equipped with a 475-hp engine, 20,000-pound front and 46,000-pound rear suspensions, and a 13,200-pound lift axle. The company also used other Kenworth T800s to move the crane’s counterweights to the site and two Kenworth medium duty trucks to transport tools and other equipment.
The crane was used to help the elevator and escalator contractor install the stadium’s lifts and escalators. The 41,888-seat stadium is located off the major, busy thoroughfare of South Capitol Street, so Crane Service had to carefully coordinate the crane’s 12-mile trip to the stadium with the city, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and other site contractors.
“We were given a window of time in which we had to deliver the crane and equipment, set up the lifts and escalators, and get out of there,” Mazzella said. “A delay would have cost our company and the escalator contractor $3,500 an hour in labor and equipment costs alone. That doesn’t include the lost time other contractors would have had if the work hadn’t been completed in our allotted time.”