Dunn tops out with Comansa

JE Dunn Construction Company is using a Linden Comansa 21 LC 400 flat top tower crane at the Kansas Statehouse Exterior Masonry Restoration project, in Kansas state capital Topeka, USA.

The US$36 million dollar project required a crane that access to all sides of the drum that supports the dome at the top of the building. A crawler crane was considered but the cost of hiring one, along with the close proximity of other buildings resulted in Dunn choosing the Comansa, said the manufacturer.

The 18 tonne capacity 21 LC 400 was erected with a height under hook of 103.8 m, and a jib length of 80 m, allowing access to the entire jobsite, including slewing over the statue of a Native American archer on top of the dome, at a height of 93 m.

Rather than tying the crane, a special tower configuration was designed, made up of nine 4 m wide sections, one transition section, and nine 2.5 m wide sections. According to Blake Graham, JE Dunn project manager, it is the tallest freestanding tower crane in North America.

The 21 LC 400 crane, which has been part of the JE Dunn fleet since 2006, will remain at the job site for about a year, said Comansa.