Edwards makes light work of mega transport in South Florida

Fort Lauderdale: Edwards Moving & Rigging was awarded the contract to transport two turbines and generators weighing 698,865lbs – 947,988lbs (317 t - 430 t) in Fort Lauderdale to a power plant approximately 12 miles (19 km) away.This involved picking up the cargo from a barge and transporting it over regular highways to the power plant. The big challenge with this transport was the part on the highways where height restrictions of 18 ft (5.5 m) had to be considered, so that the cargo couldn’t be loaded directly on the platform of the modules.

But Edwards has years of know-how and combines this with its Goldhofer »FAKTOR« 5 high girder bridge and its large pool of Goldhofer heavy-duty modules. “With this equipment and our highly experienced team, handling this transport was almost a routine job for us,” says Tobias Epple, Director Business Development Europe at Edwards. The use of the »FAKTOR« 5 made it possible to hang up the transformers and the generators between the module combinations in the front and in the rear so that they could pass under the bridges without any problems. With a vertical stroke of 5.9ft (1.8 m), the transport team was also able to clear any roadside obstacles on the route.

The bridges to be crossed, up to 1,148ft (350 m) in length, were neither a problem for the team nor for their equipment. Edwards placed the girder frame on 2x18-axle side-by-side combinations – the perfect solution for compliance with the legal maximum axle loads. With a total gross weight of the transport of 1,877,157lbs (856 t), an overall length of just under 335ft (102 m), a width of 20.7ft (6.3 m) and a height of 17.4ft (5.3 m), negotiating the 90° bends was obviously a challenge, too. But thanks to the perfectly coordinated transport team and their tried-and-tested equipment, the 12 miles (19 km) were covered in no time at all.