Tulsa Construction Crews Train To Use Heavy Duty Crane

By Jeffrey Smith, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Tulsa construction crews have finished their training on a new heavy duty crane. The crane can lift 600 tons.

Bennett Steel claims it's the largest hydraulic crane in the entire state and it's so new, the plastic wrap's still on the seat. 

The numbers speak for themselves. The crane weighs about 700,000 pounds, can lift 600-tons off the ground, and it can reach heights approaching 500 feet in the air.

"You need binoculars to see the end of it," said Brodie Morgan, crane operator.

The crane arrived from Germany a few days before Christmas. It took 13 big rigs to get it to Sapulpa. Officially, it's called the Terex Demag AC 500. Unofficially, crane operator Brodie Morgan is still working on a nickname. 

Practice sessions have been tough to come by because of the weather.

"It's a lot of machine. It's a lot to keep up with, a lot to learn on it," said Brodie Morgan.

When any crane lifts a load, it has counter-weights for balance. The Terex Demag AC 500's counterweights alone weigh 400,000 pounds. To put that in perspective, that's like having 10 Mac trucks, all stacked up.

Manager Joe Perez says the crane is perfect for work on refineries, dams and windmills -- environmental and energy jobs that require a lot of lifting power.

A lot of people have been driving by nearby Scott Macon construction to get a closer look.

"When it first got here a few days before Christmas, people were stopping, wanting to look at it, see it, and we had to put barriers up because so many people wanted to see what was going on," said Joe Perez, manager.

The crane will be disassembled once again this week, then 13 big rigs will take it to Sallisaw by the end of the February.

The crane's first job is on a Lock-and-Dam located on the Arkansas River near Sallisaw. That project is scheduled to start in early March.