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The Disassembly
The removal process began in mid-September 1999. The first step involved the construction of a temporary ramp that would enable two large cranes to set-up near the pedestal base. The ramp was constructed with re-milled asphalt by Cottingham Contracting of Hueytown, Alabama. Next, Steel City Crane Erection and Rental Inc. assembled two large cranes on opposite sides of the pedestal. A 200-ton crawler crane was used for the transport of men, tools and rigging and 250-ton crane was used to lift Vulcan’s components castings. On October 5, 1999 the disassembly began with a Safety Meeting held each day at 7:00 a.m. in Vulcan Park. The first piece to be removed was the neon torch that had been placed over the spear in Vulcan’s right hand as part of a highway safety program in 1946. After being hampered by high wind conditions the right hand was removed at 9:15 a.m. on October 11, 1999. By the end of the week the right arm had been completely removed along with the left hand. The methodology used for detaching the castings was to secure the piece with rigging from the 250 ton crane then use a plasma arc cutter to sever the bolts and release each component from the central structure. On October 18, 1999 the Robinson crew had their most productive day, hoisting the left arm, hammer, anvil and anvil base. By late October the statue had been disassembled down to the level of the concrete ballast in-fill. At this juncture, ABC Concrete Cutters of Bessemer, Alabama began the process of coring the concrete out of the center of the statue. This slowed the disassembly process considerably, however the work proceeded safely and remained on schedule. As the ABC crew reached a depth beyond a casting seam, the Robinson Crew would take over and chip away the remaining concrete which permitted the removal of a torso casting. By mid-November the coring operation had reached the lowermost torso area where the cracking was severe. Using a spreader beam attached to the 250-ton crane the two leg castings along with the lower torso were simultaneously rigged. At this point, the ABC crew set-up a diamond wire cutting operation that was designed to cut the concrete below Vulcan’s feet, thereby releasing the final components from the stone pedestal. After successfully removing the remaining concrete from the legs and placing all components within a specially constructed fenced area in the Vulcan Park parking lot, the construction ramp was removed and the park landscaping was returned to its original condition. A membrane roof was applied at the top of the pedestal. The Future |
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| Click on the link below to view a movie on the Vulcan restoration project. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| RobinsonIron_56.wmv | |||||||||||||||||||||
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