That wind advisory on the I-10 bridge got my heart racing last Tuesday

I was running a 120-ton crawler near Baton Rouge last week, and the weather report said 25 mph gusts with higher on the bridge. I had a 30,000 pound precast panel hanging, and the load started swinging a good 6 inches each way. My spotter wanted to keep going because the contractor was on a tight deadline, but I shut it down for 45 minutes until the wind settled. The site super was pacing around and kept saying, "We've done this in worse," but I told him I am the one signing the lift sheet. Has anyone else had to pull the plug on a job that seemed doable on paper, and how did you handle the pushback from the crew?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia_hayes18d ago

Got a buddy who runs a smaller rig up in Little Rock. He had a similar call last spring, fiberglass duct banks on a highway overpass. Wind was gusting around 20 mph but the spec sheet said the material could handle it. He parked it anyway because the shadows on the road were dancing around in a way that just felt off. The general contractor was about to burst a blood vessel, but my friend just handed him the weather app on his phone and said, "You want to explain this to the insurance guy?" Crew grumbled for a bit, then they all went and got coffee. Took an extra three hours off the schedule, but nobody got hurt and the load went up clean the next morning. Sometimes the pushback is louder than the wind, but your gut and your signature are the only things that actually matter.

lisa_bennett18d ago

Oh come on, is "gut feeling" really a valid reason to burn three hours and thousands of dollars? Spec sheets exist for a reason, and if the numbers say it's safe, parking it just makes you look like the one who can't handle the pressure.