These are notes that I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
Siemer Milling Co. in Teutopolis, IL, makes flour "that ends up in cakes, cookies, breadings, doughnuts, ice cream cones, and other food products sold all over the U.S." [EffinghamDailyNews] (source) Wheat is trucked in from local farmers and flour is shipped using rail and trucks.
Evidently this area is far enough south of Chicago that their growing season is long enough that they can grow soybeans after they harvest the wheat. In addition to receiving wheat at their Teutopolis elevator, they have bought the elevator in Montrose to make it easier for the local farmers to deliver wheat for the mill. In 1994 it was converted into a wheat storage adjunct. "In 2015, two grain bins were built, adding 230,000 bushels of storage; the total is now about 650,000 bushels. A grain dryer was installed, and a Wet Wheat Program initiated. This program encourages farmers to cut wheat at higher moistures, which helps to preserve quality, and also enables an earlier start on planting double-crop soybeans.
In addition, the receiving pit capacity was enlarged and systems were automated for higher through-put. Bushels taken in have increased each summer, so that Montrose is now the top destination for local wheat producers." [EffinghamDailyNews]
This is the first time I have seen the satellite image being significantly more current than the street view. Especially on a US highway. Normally the street view is more recent. The two 130,000 bushel steel bins mentioned in the article replaced a bunch of small white silos.
They can double crop in the more northern latitudes as well. This farm is north of Lafayette, IN.
The Farmer's Life posted Teamwork. Wheat out, beans going in behind. Lloyd L. Munsee I thought the wheat was still too wet?
My Grandfather in northeast Indiana use to grow wheat, barley, and oats. He raised chickens and milked cows. The grains were used for his chicken feed, and the straw was used to bed the cows. He would wait until late July before he could combine.
This farmer does a lot of corn. He does special corn crops such as waxy, popcorn and seed. He got a new planter for this season. It doesn't have more rows, but each row is now GPS controlled. Obviously, he practices no-till on at least some of his fields.
They are replacing a one-lane wood bridge with a longer two-lane bridge that also goes over the BNSF tracks.
So why am I posting about yet another concrete-girder bridge? Because the contractor has done a good job of documenting the construction and because the project includes "ground improvement" that I am still trying to understand. [FHWA-project]
Then they barged the MLC300 base and a Grove crane to the worksite and...
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...added the boom and counterweight stacks to the MLC300 at the worksite. They first used the crane to help improve the ground that will be under the bridge abutment using a ground penetrating vibrator. [FHWA-newsletter] At -0:39 in the following video you can see the crane push its counterweight stack out just before it raises the boom because the boom itself is a load with a long radius when its on the ground. In fact, some cranes need help from the assembly crane to get the boom up.
Refuge Blog
[A view of the penetrating vibrator in action. Note the two hoses. The vibrator obviously uses hydraulic power.]
Two images of the Stage 2 video are of particular interest. The swing bridge is here. I spent a lot of time looking for the lift bridge because I can't believe I can't find it. But I can't.
Ceccanti, Inc posted two photos with the comment: "Crews down in Ridgefield are getting the in water support columns ready for installation starting next week! Thank you Mick Cannon for getting these shots!"
[They are building the rebar cage that will be installed into a pier shaft.]
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[As the comment explains, we don't see the drilling of the pier shafts because they lost the last week of activity.]
This is a screenshot from the above video that captures the special trailer used to haul the beams. Since this road serves just a wildlife refuge, they closed the refuge during the week so the construction company could use the existing bridge.
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The project is expected to last until July, 2020. [FWS] I want to see how they position the crane for the middle and far stages of girder installation. I plan to check their page later and add any more "big crane" activity that I find.
June Time Lapse Video "Time-Lapse for the month of June! Some highlights from the month were crews pouring and forming the piers and abutment with concrete as well as setting the first stage of girders."
I did catch a frame showing that they used the MLC300 to help build the far pier as well as the close one and the abutment.
And I saw at least a couple of frames with a concrete pumper.
Screenshot @ -0:22
Ceccanti, Inc shared sixteen photos with the comment:
With the help from @nesscampbellcranerigging we set rest of the girders at River S this week!•Teams combined our Manitowoc 300 ton crane with a Liebherr 600 ton crane to complete most of the job. The last section was done with Ness Campbell's Liebherr and Grove cranes. •The project started on Tuesday the 30th with setting piers 1 to 2 and 2 to 3. Then the crew started at 3:30am on Thursday the 1st to set Piers 3 to 4 which go over the railroad tracks. They had to time the picks between the train schedule! •I think everyone is a bit more relieved now that the girders are done.
[The answer to how you set the girders on the long span is to rent a big crane to help you MLC300. It also helps that they can close the road and use the old bridge to move the beams adjacent to the span. Photo 8 shows the MLC300 has its counterweight stack shoved back quite a ways to balance the load of the beam.]
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Ceccanti, Inc shared six photos with the comment: "Couple more that didnt post to the last one! Setting the last girder and the finished look with all of them in place!"
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Ben Stalvey shared two photos with the comment: "MLC 300 power."
[In the referenced article, the project manager says that one of the reasons they choose the MLC 300 was because of its maneuverability. Yet for this project they set it up on a bulkhead on the shore and it did all the construction without moving. One thing I learned is that the rebar cages weighed almost as much as the girders.]
(new window) A time-lapse of the whole project. Piers and beams just all of a sudden appear. And I didn't see much happening near then end except for the grass growing. The two "cards" at the end might be more interesting: beams and assembly.
