23.09.2022

Crane breaks bridge

A concrete bridge collapsed when a 100 ton Tadano GX100 Rough Terrain crane tried to cross it on the 8th of September near Massina, Iowa.

The bridge, a concrete beam structure on a back road near Massena, Iowa half way between Des Moines and Omaha, Nebraska, was inspected last year and is thought to be under 10 years old. Three of its five beams broke away from the structure along with part of the deck, causing the crane to tip and fall to the river below, apparently spilling around 20 gallons of oil or fuel

The crane is owned by Mammoet and was working for MidAmerican Energy on a wind farm repowering project. The crane was weighed after it was recovered and was found to have an all-up weight of 52 tonnes.
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Initially the county engineer said that wind farm traffic was cleared to use the bridge, but after the incident and on learning of the weight of the crane said it was not permitted to use the bridge.

The operator of the crane, Rod Rogers, suffered minor injuries but was able to climb out of his cab and survey the scene.