PACIFIC NORTHWEST EDITION
A Supplement to:
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December 20 2020 Vol. V • No. 26
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Pacific Northwest Connection – Patrick Kiel – 1-877-7CEGLTD – pkiel@cegltd.com
Knife River Executes Bridge Slides on I-84
General contractor Knife River recently completed the construction of two bridges at the Blacks Creek Interchange on I-84 in Ada County, Idaho.
By Irwin Rapoport CEG CORRESPONDENT
The twin east-west bridges – 112 ft. long, two lanes each – at the Blacks Creek Interchange on I-84 in Ada County, Idaho (20 mi. east of Boise and built in 1963) reached the end of their lifespan and have been replaced – hence the Idaho Transportation Department’s (ITD) $12.1 million
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project awarded to Knife River Corporation that had prefabricated two new bridges off-site that were eventually slid into place. Knife River crews began its operations in September 2019 with the construction of crossovers so traffic could be switched over to overlay the existing bridges to ensure they would last through the winter. During the construction of the crossovers, the bridge construction began on the side of the 3,290 HOURS
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existing bridges with the building of the new bridges and detailed planning of the two bridge slides. “The existing bridges has been patched to last through construction of the new bridges,” said Jake Melder, an ITD public information officer, District 3. “The replacement bridges [were] constructed off of the roadway. Ramps were also upgraded to meet standards for the 80 mph speed limit.” see SLIDES page 6
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Page 4 • December 20, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Oregon Logging Conference Announces 2021 Cancelation Due to the extended State of Emergency in Oregon and the restrictions that remain in place regarding COVID-19, the Oregon Logging Conference Board of Directors has announced the cancellation of the 2021 Annual Logging, Trucking and Heavy Equipment Expo at the Lane Events Center and Fairgrounds in Eugene. The Conference has been scheduled for February 25 to 27, 2021 2021 Oregon Logging Conference president Scott Melcher said the Board of Directors had an extensive discussion and carefully considered all the issues before making the decision to cancel the annual conference. “This was a very difficult decision for us to make,” Melcher said. “We looked at a number of ways to have the conference as usual at the Lane County Events Center and Fairgrounds, but just could not make it work with the restrictions that are in place.” “The OLC Board felt that it was unlikely the conference could
“The OLC Board felt that it was unlikely the conference could operate in a realistic manner with the state restrictions still in place,” Oregon Logging Conference Manager Rikki Wellman said.
operate in a realistic manner with the state restrictions still in place,” Oregon Logging Conference Manager Rikki Wellman said. She echoed Melcher’s comment on how difficult it was to make this decision. “However, on a positive note,” Melcher said, “we are continuing to explore options for holding some of the events and activities
associated with the 83rd annual Oregon Logging Conference both virtually, and at other locations in February of next year.” Melcher’s theme of “Family, Friends and Forestry”, will continue to be the focus. More details about these activities will be forthcoming in the near future. The extended State of Emergency announced by Oregon
Governor Kate brown on October 28th includes the mandates of social distancing and wearing face coverings, as well as limitations of 100 people or less at indoor venues and gatherings of 250 people or less at outdoor venues. In previous years, the Annual Oregon Logging Conference gathering included more than 300 indoor and outdoor vendors, representing over 2,000 sales staff, and attracts more than 4,000 industry individuals and companies during the three-day event. Not to mention the hundreds of elementary and high school students who attend the Conference to learn about the timber industry. Wellman said the cancellation of the Annual Oregon Logging Conference will have a significant financial impact on the area. “The annual conference brings in millions of dollars to the communities of Eugene and Springfield as well as Lane County,” she said. The revenue comes from money spent at hotels, restaurants, and other retail outlets.
Alternative Plans While attendees will not be gathering at the Lane Events Center and Fairgrounds for the Oregon Logging Conference Logging, Trucking and Heavy Equipment Expo in person, plans are underway to hold a few of the events that OLC is most known for, to celebrate the conference. OLC is currently exploring ways to develop a modified version of OLC for a new and exciting celebration of this annual tradition. Because of ongoing uncertainty, plans could change along the way. OLC will only have activities and events that conform to the current guidelines which are in place (and no one knows what that will look like in February 2021). OLC is seeking to find ways that provide various opportunities for attendees to keep their connection with one another. The Oregon Logging Conference was established in1938 and operates as a nonprofit organization.
OLC Foundation Raises $32K at Clay Tournament Event The second annual Oregon Logging Conference Foundation (OLCF) Clay Target Tournament fundraiser on Oct. 2 raised more than $32,000, with all proceeds from the event to benefit college students who receive scholarships from the OLCF. The fundraiser was held at Creswell Clay target Sports in Creswell, Ore. “We are very fortunate to be able to hold this fundraiser considering this year’s events, and at the end of the day we raised $32,500 which will go directly to the 2021-2022 school year scholarship recipients,” said event chairperson and OLC Board Member Jeanne Shuttleworth. Scholarship sponsors for the tournament were: Sundance Lumber Co., Boise Cascade, Harold and Lory Huffman, Stuntzner Engineering and Forestry LLC, Starker Forests Inc., and Bob and Carolyn Magathan. Title sponsors of the fundraiser were Bell Lumber and Pole,
Douglas County Forest Products and Pape Machinery. About twenty-five volunteers helped to set up the target shoot, manage registration, and staff the stations. Jeanne Shuttleworth, Rikki Wellman and Kevin Merritt were responsible for much of the organization and behind-thescenes work, along with members of OLC staff and volunteers from the gun range. Following registration, a catered lunch was served courtesy of Erin Pelayo from Chapala Mexican Restaurants. Lunches came individually packaged, and the group was able to eat outside and practice social distancing as per COVID-19 regulations. During the meal, Jeanne Shuttleworth addressed the group, thanked the event sponsors and introduced Justin Helgren, a Junior at Oregon State University majoring in Forest Management who is a current beneficiary from the OLCF scholarship program. Lunch was sponsored by Giustina Resources and the drink sponsor
The second annual Oregon Logging Conference Foundation (OLCF) Clay Target Tournament fundraiser on Oct. 2 raised more than $32,000.
was Swanson Group. In addition to paid team registration, participants had the option to buy do-over tickets for missed rounds, opportunity drawing tickets for donated prizes, and participate in the auction held at the end of the day. Auction items included a salmon fishing trip sponsored by Alta Forest and Mountain West Log Scaling Bureau, a backpack full of items donated by Mark and Denise Taisey (with proceeds to fund the Carl Welle Memorial Scholarship), and a Tikka rifle donated by L and L Inc., Martin
Custom Harvesting, and Bearhaven Consulting. Combined, the auction and opportunity drawing raised $8,000. Fourteen teams rotated through the stations on the course, and for each broken “bird” or clay target, one point was awarded to the individual who shot it. The scores of the top four shooters on each team were added up to determine the team scores with a maximum of 100 points. The first-place team for the second consecutive year was Ocean Terminals. Second place team was
Giustina Resources. Steve Munsell and Liz Goll were the high scoring man and woman, and the Conservation Award (for the lowest scoring individual) went to Donna Kriege. Sponsors of the stations this year were Hart Custom Cutting, Bearhaven Consulting, Cascade Timber Consulting, Michelle and Jim Dudley, the Oregon Logging Conference, Modern Machinery, and Kriege Logging LLC. When all of the groups finished shooting, everyone gathered together for drinks and the awards ceremony sponsored by Ocean Terminals, Pay it Forward, and Pat and Liz Goll. “The event was a huge success and it’s a wonderful thing that despite all of the challenges being faced in our lives, this group of people was able to come together with generosity and camaraderie and make a contribution to the future of the logging industry,” conference manager said Rikki Wellman.
Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 20, 2020 • Page 5
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Page 6 • December 20, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Crews Utilize Cat 349 Excavator for Old Bridge Demolition H.W. Lochner Inc. designed the new bridges and road infrastructure, which replicated the previous dimensions of the older bridge at 112 ft. long and has two lanes each.
SLIDES from page 1
H.W. Lochner Inc. designed the new bridges and road infrastructure, which replicated the previous dimensions of older bridge at 112 ft. long, and will have two lanes each. “We needed to make sure that the bridge and roadway matched up nicely,” said Patrick Kelly, ITD’s project manager, who pointed out that the bridges are separated by 40 to 50 ft. to match the grass median of the interstate This was the first bridge slide operation for Knife River. “It was probably one of the easiest bridge projects we’ve had,” said Steve Earl, Knife River’s bridge project manager. “When a crew completed one task on a bridge they were able to go to the other one and do the exact same task. That was very helpful for the guys and they were able to continually improve their efficiency. It was standard construction for the most part. The only thing that was different was the abutments – they were thicker than normal and had steel shoes on the bottom for the slide, which was done by using a PTFE pad and a hydraulic jacking system that we attached to the abutment. “We had an anchor on the far side and we pulled the bridge over,” he added. “We also had a pile cap driven into and concrete poured with steel anchorages that we attached our thread onto.” The first slide took place between July 13 to 14 and the second from August 5 to 7. “The actual slides took about four hours each, but the demolition of the existing bridges took about 12 to 14 hours each, and setting our precast slide slabs, which is basically the lower half of the abutment, took another day to install,” said Earl. “We were working seven days a week for the slides. A Cat 349 excavator using a Cat hydraulic shear and breaker was used for the demolition and a hydraulic ramming system was rented from Lifting Gear Hire in Bridgeview, Ill.
A Cat 349 excavator using a Cat hydraulic shear and breaker was used for the demolition and a hydraulic ramming system was rented from Lifting Gear Hire in Bridgeview, Ill.
The demolition was meticulously planned. “We went to the record drawings for the original bridges and then assembled a demolition plan, keeping safety in mind,” said Earl. “The breaker would open the deck so that the shear could start crushing the girders – they were small enough that our excavators were able to stay on one span and work on the other one, working our way from the center out-
wards.” Blacks Creek Road was closed for the demolition. The material from the demolition was stockpiled in the staging yard. Shears were used to cut up material and a Cat 330 with a bucket and thumb was employed to salvage the reinforcesee SLIDES page 10
Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 20, 2020 • Page 7
PACIFIC NORTHWESTERN PUBLISHING 2021 Issue#
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Page 8 • December 20, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Energy Northwest, Tucci Energy Will Build Solar Project Energy Northwest and Tucci Energy Services are planning a new partnership to develop what could become Washington’s largest utility-scale photovoltaic solar project. The companies signed a letter of intent for Energy Northwest to lease Tucci Energy Services 300 acres of land, located north of Richland, that would allow Tucci Energy Services to build around 75 megawatts of photovoltaic solar panels, which could provide electricity to more than 11,000 homes. Construction is projected for spring of 2022, and Tucci Energy Services is actively seeking potential customers for the solar electricity. “We are thrilled to be part of such a groundbreaking project for sustainable energy that will benefit thousands of families,” said Mary Tucci, chief operations officer of the woman-owned, Seattle-based company. Energy Northwest, a joint operating agency formed by the Washington Legislature, is committed to exploring and developing a variety of clean energy resources for the region to help meet the state’s Clean Energy Transformation Act goals by 2045. Energy Northwest’s member
“Tucci’s project is a prime example of the premise of the land transfer; showcasing global interest in generating clean energy in the Tri-Cities while creating economic prosperity for the State of Washington,” said Miles Thomas, Director of Economic Development for the Port of Benton and Executive Director of the Tri-Cities Research District. Tucci Energy Services expressed interest in developing the 300 acres in October. Potelco Inc. of Sumner, Washington, will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor. The 300-acre property is adjacent to the newly energized Horn Rapids Solar, Storage and Training project. The Horn Rapids project is also a partnership between Energy Northwest and Tucci Energy Services.
The project is part of an effort under a 2019 state law that calls for zero greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels to be emitted in the Pacific Northwest by 2045.
public utilities are prioritized in the opportunity to join the project at competitive cost, and the agency is providing its expertise as a regional clean-energy provider. “This underscores Energy Northwest’s commitment to affordably and reliably meeting the region’s electricity needs,” Energy Northwest CEO Brad Sawatzke said. “With a combination of renewables, battery storage, hydroelectric power and existing and new nuclear, we believe the region can affordably achieve 100% carbonfree electricity.” The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) says the Tri-Cities is well-suited for solar energy because it has the available
land, the infrastructure to support power projects and abundant sunshine. “When TRIDEC and our community partners worked to transfer this land from the Department of Energy, our goal was to further establish the Tri-Cities as the ‘Clean Energy Hub of the Pacific Northwest’, and this is exactly the type of project we had in mind,” said David Reeploeg, TRIDEC vice president for Federal Programs. The Port of Benton and Tri-Cities Research District echo excitement for this development, which reinforces this designated Tri-Cities Innovation Partnership Zone to lead the state in the creation of clean reliable energy production.
Land Use Background On Sept. 30, 2015, the Department of Energy’s Richland Operations Office transferred 1,641 acres of the Hanford site to TRIDEC and the Tri-Cities community for economic development. In 2016, TRIDEC transferred ownership of 300 acres to Energy Northwest.
Convention Center Gets City Officials Decide That West Seattle $100 Million Expansion Bridge Will Be Repaired, Not Replaced SEATTLE (AP) King County Executive Dow Constantine has offered a $100 million loan to help keep a Washington State Convention Center expansion project in Seattle afloat. Constantine announced the loan, KING-TV reported. A construction update sent in late November included a warning that if a solution to a $300 million funding gap wasn’t found by the end of 2020, the project would start shutting down and about 1,000 people could be out of work. The county’s loan won't cover the $300 million shortfall, and will be paid back at 1 percent interest. But county leaders and construction managers hope the offer serves as a model for other financing opportunities. The proposal will need approval from the King County Council's Executive Finance Committee. The decline in lodging-tax revenue — associated with travel and tourism — in King County because of the COVID-19 pandemic has “impaired” the convention center's ability to finish the second round of financing that is needed to complete the project by 2022, according to last month’s update. The expansion, which was 30 percent complete in May, extends over Interstate 5 in Seattle’s downtown. State and civic leaders have argued that the 1.5 million square-foot addition is needed to compete for conventions. It wasn’t immediately clear how the remaining $200 million budget hole will be filled. But project lead Matt Griffin suggested construction would stop early next year if financing is not secured by the end of December.
SEATTLE (AP) Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said the city will repair, instead of replace, the West Seattle Bridge, a critical link between that community and the city. The city’s most used bridge has been closed to traffic for eight months after the city found fast-spreading cracks in the structure. According to news reports, the bridge could reopen to traffic as soon as mid-2022, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation. Repairs could add 15 to 40 years to the bridge’s lifespan and would cost about $47 million upfront, with an additional $50 million for traffic mitigation Repairs could add 15 to 40 years to the bridge’s lifespan and and $10 million for low bridge repair. Durkan’s decision comes after “months would cost about $47 million upfront, with an additional $50 of careful examination of the bridge’s struc- million for traffic mitigation and $10 million for low bridge tural integrity, analysis of the costs and ben- repair. efits of all possible options, and engagement with the restoring safe access as quickly as possible is the priority. However, if the bridge repair doesn’t last as long as communities affected by the bridge closure.” One of the key reasons to repair the bridge rather than officials hope, Durkan said the city will have to replace it. replace it is economic recovery, which relies on mobility. That could take until 2026, and a partial replacement of Seattle Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who represents the superstructure could open in the same timeframe. West Seattle, said she heard from her constituents that Both options would be projected to last 75 years.
Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 20, 2020 • Page 9
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Page 10 • December 20, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
Blacks Creek Interchange Job Sees Slide-in-Place Method SLIDES from page 6
ment material. The concrete was taken to a waste site and the steel was recycled. “While the traffic was in crossover configuration for the bridge demo and slide operation, acceleration/deceleration and on/off ramps were reconstructed,” said Earl. “At one point during the shut-down KRC had three dirt crews, four concrete crews, a paving crew, 15 plus side/belly dumps and a handful of subcontractors onsite in a given day. The earthwork and paving portion of the project was routine highway/interchange work, but it was chopped up into small sections with limited lane closures, which had large fines associated with extra closures. “It was like putting a puzzle together while someone timed us,” he added. “The earthwork was looked at one way at bid time then evolved during the planning and construction phases. Josh Crimbchin and Mike Hart, the earthwork superintendent and foreman, did a great job of changing the order of operation to capture efficiencies while increasing productions and keeping everyone involved with the project and the traveling public safe.” Kelly is assisted by resident engineers, inspectors and testers. KRC’s management team consisted of Project Manager Antone Contento; Bridge Project Manager Stephen Earl; Project Engineer Katie Krehbiel; Concrete Superintendents John Gabbard and Tyke Deblieck; Earthwork Superintendent Josh Crimbchin; and Jim Ronning, the founder and president of Lucid Engineers. “During the slide operations it was all hands-on deck,” said Earl. “Planning and scheduling went on for months, and before the operation began the management team and crews sat down and came up with a day by day schedule broken down to the hour, for each crew onsite. Each morning we meet for an on-site safety meeting to go over each operation and what the safety hazards workers and inspectors needed to watch out for. It was important because we would have crews and subcontractors come onsite for a few hours to help out, and we needed to ensure everyone understood what was going on around them and what should be expected. “The management team was on-site every day of the shutdown to ensure each crew had what they needed to get their portion of work done and make small scheduling adjustments daily to stay on track,” he added. “It really was a team effort with everyone pitching in to get the work done, in a very small area, in the allotted time. Both slides met the expected schedule before the shutdown minus some additional days for ITD directed changes.” Peak days had 40 to 50 Knife River and subcontractor employees on-site, with the major subcontractors being Inland Crane for crane and lifting service, and Lucid Engineers for hydraulic design and operation hydraulic jacks. The amounts of materials generated from the demolition of the bridges have not been tabulated. For the project, Knife River is using a Cat D6 dozer, a Cat 14M motor grader, various small rollers and forklifts. Inland Crane, the crane subcontractor, used a Liebherr 885 to load and set precast, Link-Belt 218A for pile driving and a Liebherr LTM 1350 to set precast in final position. “We had some hydraulic fitting issues and a pin break and that was it,” said Earl. “We really didn’t have any mechanical
The eastbound bridge weighed about 1.2 million lbs. and the westbound bridge, which had one additional lane, weighed about 1.5 million lbs. The bridges, consisting of concrete and rebar, were built on nearby ITD rightof-way.
issues. The job site was close to our shop and we had mechanics on call.” In Idaho, Knife River purchases and rents equipment from Western States CAT and United Rentals. United provided a small Bobcat excavator with a breaker to assist with the demolition and a couple of forklifts. Knife River rented the excavator with the shear mounted on it from Western States. “We do quite a bit of business with both United Rentals and Western States locally,” said Earl. “We’re a mostly Cat construction company and our equipment manager, Bret Olson, does a great job of maintaining a solid relationship with both companies.” Project Background “We turned in our estimate for the project in July 2019 and it required a considerable amount of research finding a specialty engineer to work with us,” said Earl. “As part of the transportation department’s requirements, we had to assemble a bridge slide plan and our final document came in at about 140 pages. We put in several hundred hours into it and that was the key to our success – it ensured that everyone was fully prepared and understood all the steps involved in the demolition of the existing bridges, moving the new ones into place, and then doing all the tie-in grade and concrete work. “Relations with the ITD are very good,” he added, noting that meetings with the ITD increased in frequency as the dates for the slides approached. The eastbound bridge weighed about 1.2 million lbs. and the westbound bridge, which had one additional lane, weighed about 1.5 million lbs. The bridges, consisting of concrete and rebar, were built on nearby ITD right-of-way. Approximately 27,000 cars and trucks use the bridge daily. “This stretch of road, with I-84, is a very big freight and commercial route that connects the heartland of America to a lot of important ports on the Pacific coast,” said Melder. “There is also a fair amount of commuter traffic coming into the Boise Metro Area from communities such as Mountain Home. The old bridge was structurally safe to drive on, however the deck had deteriorated with potholes that we have been continuously patching up. The surface is pretty rough and did not make for a smooth ride. This is one of the main reasons for the replacement.” The initial scope of the funding for the design and construction was approved in 2015 due to it being a connecting point for I-84. The project is being financed by state funds.
“If the bridges, for whatever reason had been damaged, we would not have been able to put any traffic on them,” said Melder. “They were a very important link in the chain of I-84 and connect Blacks Creek Road and Kuna Mora Road, a less travelled road at the southern edge of Boise and the Treasure Valley, but one used a meat processing firm that transports livestock and other items on it. “The biggest challenge was reducing the impacts of construction as much as possible,” said Melder. “We saw the slide-in-place method as being the ideal way of replacing the bridges instead of a more traditional bridge replacement where you replace one lane and then another. Given the speeds and traffic volumes, it was the safest and least impactful way to go about this. Structurally we anticipate the lifespan of the bridges to be between 60 and 75 years. It’s feasible for the structures to last even longer.” Idaho’s state legislature, for the past few years, has raised the speed limits on interstates outside of urban areas to 80 mph. “These bridges have a loop ramp on the westbound offramp and we’re going to be changing the geometry to improve the comfort of driving on them,” said Melder. “We extended the westbound and eastbound on-ramps to allow for more distance to get up to the 80 mph speed.” Nearly 30 percent of the traffic on Blacks Creek Road consists of freight, and the bridges are designed to handle the loads they carry. The construction impacted traffic, and for I-84, two lanes in each direction remained open. In mid-July traffic was crossed over into a two-lane, two-way configuration to accommodate demolition of the old bridge and bridge slide. For Black Creek Road, the road was closed underneath the bridge structures intermittently. “We had to do some overnight closures, but they have been short and we’ve seen good compliance for the restrictions,” said Melder. Knife River has completed the slides and is waiting for the overhead signs manufacturer to complete fabrication and signs to be installed. “They have the forms in place for the diaphragm – the connector points between the girders – and they’ll be reenforcing the abutments ahead of the demolition of the bridges,” said Melder, commenting on earlier phase of construction. “They also have the materials staged and ready to go and have plans to ready to set up the ready mix plant for the concrete bridges.” “This method significantly reduces the amount of time each bridge needs to be closed, which provides greater safety and mobility for motorists, and minimizes the economic impacts,” said Melder. Work on the project will soon resume to complete punch list items, including the installation of permanent signage by one of the subcontractors this winter. CEG
Construction Equipment Guide • Pacific Northwest Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 20, 2020 • Page 11
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Komatsu’s XT465L-5 Feller Buncher Improves Reliability Improved service access, reliability and durability means increased productivity for the Komatsu XT465L-5 feller buncher. Built for ease of serviceability, a gull-wing style engine hood folds down, providing an elevated service work platform. Four additional service doors provide easy access. The innovative hydraulic tank design features two tanks, requiring 55 percent less total The cab has been relocated to the left of the boom, which provides enhanced lines of sight to each track, hydraulic oil. according to the manufacturer. The cab has been relocated to the left of the boom, which Fuel consumption is up to 5 percent lower provides enhanced lines of sight to each track, according to the manufacturer. The due to advanced engine and hydraulic sysIQAN-MD4 digital control system puts tem control designs with the 331 peak hp machine control at the operator’s fingertips. (247 kW) Cummins QSL9 9-liter engine. The rugged undercarriage increases serv- Lift capacity at full reach has been signifiice life, including stronger track chain links cantly increased and the XT465L-5 now that resist twist and longer-wear track roller readily operates the Quadco 24-in. (61 cm) and idler bushings. The new triple-labyrinth cutting capacity disc saw heads. For more information, visit floating seal housings protect the final drive www.komatsuamerica.com. seals against mud packing.
Page 12 • December 20, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Pacific Northwest Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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