waterfront. One mention from the Pacific Northwest insurance
firm Parker, Smith & Feek, correctly noted that the barge
length is two-thirds the height of the Seattle Space Needle
and the height of the crane is double that of Seattle’s Great
Wheel; the City’s giant Ferris wheel on Pier 57. (Together, the
barge and crane are about 320 feet off the water.) The barge
also has a few special features, such as living quarters and
a helipad.
When not in use, the Pacific Lifter homeports
at PPM’s waterfront facility along the
Duwamish Waterway, an industrialized portion
of Washington State’s Green River, south
of downtown Seattle.
The Pacific Lifter was towed from Mexico
to Seattle, Wash. Its journey to Seattle began
in Tuxpan, down on the east coast of Mexico,
to Ensanada, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, via
the Panama Canal. There, the vessel was
transferred to Boyer Towing and transported
to Seattle by their 4,000 hp tug, Billie H.
“Shortly after it arrived, we started readying
it for service,” said Mansfield. “This
included replacing more than 3.5 miles of
crane wire between the main, auxiliary and
whip lines.”
PPM is already putting the crane to good
use. It is placing precast concrete panels
and, recently, a pedestrian bridge for the
Seattle Multimodal Terminal at Colman
Dock, a $350-million project for Washington
State Ferries.
At an estimated $350 million, the multi-year Colman Dock
job is the largest heavy civil GC/CM delivery undertaken by
Washington State Ferries.
Colman Dock in Seattle, designed by engineer James
Colman, was originally built in 1882. It’s been rebuilt and
has changed location over the years, but has become an
institutional part of Seattle’s transportation infrastructure,
providing a transportation hub to millions of annual commuters
around Puget Sound.
According to the Washington State Department of
Transportation project website, “Washington State Ferries
is replacing the aging and seismically vulnerable parts of
Colman Dock in Seattle in order to maintain its critical role.”
Housed on the Seattle waterfront’s Pier 52, it also happens
to be Washington State Ferries’ largest facility, their flagship
terminal and is responsible for moving more than 10 million
travellers each year.
Otherwise, the Colman Dock job involves replacing sections
of dock, as well as entire buildings, adding elements
such as walkways, staircases, elevators and bicycle-specific
infrastructure. Another element of the project is to remove
the 7,400 creosote-treated wooden piles that has held up the
dock all these years. The project itself is long term, and is
scheduled for completion in early 2023.
In addition to the activity on Pier 52, PPM is performing
several other large projects along the Seattle Waterfront
including the Pier 62/63 rebuild and removal of ship-to-shore
cranes at Terminals 18 and 46 where their equipment, including
the Pacific Lifter, can be seen in action.
There is great enthusiasm for the opportunities the Pacific
Lifter brings to the company, such as a larger presence in
transportation infrastructure for bridge construction and
deconstruction. The Pacific Lifter offers PPM some distinct
advantages and sets them apart for heavy lift and marine
infrastructure services. Of course, its range isn’t just limited
to the Seattle waterfront.
“The type of reach and capacity our crane has is just incredible,”
says Mansfield. “It opens up some exciting possibilities.”
PPM’s Pacific Lifter is currently being considered for several
notable projects involving bridge replacements, offshore
facility construction and large steel structure deconstruction
and decommissioning.
The company itself has about 150 employees and is active
all along the West Coast, including British Columbia and
Alaska, where the company has regional offices. PPM isn’t
limited to marine work and performs projects in such landlocked
states as Montana and Idaho and other non-marine
environments as well; often involving driven, drilled or bored
foundations or remote work on dams.
Whatever lies ahead, the acquisition of an asset as dynamic
as the Pacific Lifter ensures that Pacific Pile & Marine will be
well-equipped for the future.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
With a 1,000-ton
lifting capacity, it is the
largest floating crane
on the west coast.
64 Q4 2018 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
