Mr. Crane places Bolsa Chica footbridge

In November 2003, the Wildlife Conservation Board began the long and laborious process of applying for funds to help protect the wildlife and restore the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Located in Orange County at the north of Huntington Beach, the reserve is one of the last coastal salt marshes in Southern California and is home to many threatened and endangered species. A system of trails allows visitors to move close to wildlife. Unfortunately, those who wanted to enjoy the reserve had to cross a channel on a heavily traveled road.

The California Department of Fish and Game, which manages the reserve, decided a footbridge was needed to connect the mesa to the Bolsa Chica Conservancy parking lot on Warner Avenue. The project was bid in 2008.

Cash & Associates/URS designed the single-span pedestrian bridge – 145 feet long and 8 feet wide – constructed of coated steel and weighing 70,000 pounds. Reyes Construction of Pomona worked with Stinger Welding of Coolidge, Ariz., to build the bridge in a single piece and transport it to the site on a cart and dolly.

A crane was needed to lift the bridge from one side of the channel and put it in place, and specs called for the crane to be erected and make the lift in a single day. Mr. Crane’s self-erecting Liebherr 500-ton LTM-1400 crane, with rigging, hook and block weighing approximately 76,000 pounds, was ideal for the project.

"We moved the crane in at 7:00 a.m. and began assembly," says John Anderson, crane advisor with Mr. Crane. "The crane was operational at 8:30 a.m. Putting the 70,000-pound bridge in place took about two hours, and we were out of there by noon.” An official ribbon-cutting was held March 4 and the bridge was open for traffic.

“Visitors can now safely visit the ecological reserve,” says Jennifer Robins, president of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica.

Mr. Crane's fleet includes hydraulic truck and rough-terrain cranes, all-terrain cranes, conventional truck cranes and crawler cranes with capacities of 40 to 500 tons. The company specializes in tilt-up panel, wind turbine, tower crane, precast bridge beam erection, refinery/power plant, vessel and equipment installation, plant maintenance, heavy equipment transportation and installation, multi-crane lifts and a full range of general lifting.

For more information, call (714) 633-2100 or visit