Florida Department of Transportation workers used a Bronto Skylift S236 HLA from Mesa, Ariz.-based Acme Lift Co. to inspect cables on the 4.1-mile Sunshine Skyway Bridge spanning Tampa Bay between St. Petersburg and Manatee Co., Fla.
Alex Gold, Acme Lift’s Bronto operator who travels with the boomlift and stays with the machine when it’s in operation, trained three inspectors on use of the Bronto basket. The inspectors loaded a fluoroscope, a video camera, a digital recorder and a digital camera in the basket and spent the week of Oct. 18-22 conducting nighttime examinations, looking for corrosion in the cables, in welds or for breaks in welds.
The inspections took place in the bridge’s upper cable stays, approximately 230 feet above the bridge’s Interstate 275 roadbed. The inspections occur at night to minimize traffic disruptions. The Bronto rig requires closure of one of the traffic lanes
“The Bronto is ideally suited for bridge inspections, allowing exceptional safety while providing unmatched height and outreach in an easily transportable package,” said Woody Weld, president and CEO of Acme Lift. “At its full working height of 236 feet above ground level, the Bronto’s spacious self-leveling man-basket provides aerial workers with an extremely solid and stable working experience.”
Acme’s Bronto was rented by D. Peryea & Co. of Toronto, Ohio, which specializes in inspections that require difficult access — primarily bridges and dams. Dean Peryea, company owner, said he is impressed by the Bronto’s safety and security and its ease of fine movements when the machine’s boom is fully extended to its maximum 236-foot working height.
“Our Bronto lift has been utilized in hundreds of different environments, including everything from space shuttle launch platform work and wind power maintenance to performing inspections on the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers,” Weld said. “If you need to get to over 200 feet in height quickly, safely, and have a safe and stable place to work, the Bronto is the best available option.”
Besides the Bronto, Acme also has a Condor 170S, which reaches up 170 feet.
Acme Lift is No. 64 on the RER 100. Its fleet includes 80-, 120-, 135- and 150-foot articulating and telescoping boomlifts and the latest 6,000- to 12,000-pound JLG telehandlers.
