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New retirement home greets seasoned construction veteran

Bucyrus Erie settled comfortably into his new home Saturday and appears content with the custom accommodations. He arrived as part of an entourage from downtown Boise at about 2:30 p.m., greeted by a small cadre of new friends and neighbors.

No fanfare, or marching band, or official welcome from the mayor. Just a simple pad near the front door of ITD Headquarters.

After retiring from private industry more than 40 years ago, Bucyrus moved to the Morrison-Knudsen building at the busy intersection of Broadway Avenue and Park Boulevard.

As decades passed and the building took on new names under new ownership, the stately Bucyrus seemed to lose some of his stature. He was always well groomed and received good care.

The transition drew mixed emotions – old friends were disappointed to see him depart, but new friends were glad to see him arrive.

If you run into him in front of Headquarters, pause awhile, tip your hat and say hello.

Inland Crane picks up, delivers historic steam shovel to ITD

for a short video of the steam shovel move, click here

Skilled and energetic Inland Crane workers assembled near the URS courtyard at about 7 a.m. Saturday, to prepare the classic Bucyrus-Erie B-3 steam shovel for its transport through downtown Boise.

Preparation for the move took longer than the move itself. An Inland Crane operator meticulously removed 30,000-pound counter weights from flatbed trailers and placed them on the deck of the massive crane. At the same time, other workers carefully wrapped the underbelly of the steam shovel with straps and cables to prepare it for a short aerial journey from the courtyard to an awaiting lowboy trailer.

It waited patiently as each of the counter weights was removed from the crane and returned to waiting truck trailers.

Escorted by Boise police officers, ITD vehicles and an armada of Inland Crane trucks, the semi-truck and trailer maneuvered around corners and busy thoroughfares. The informal parade completed the trip to Headquarters in 45 minutes, arriving at about 3:30 p.m. where the process of adding counter weights was repeated.

Ninety minutes later, the crane operator gently lifted the Bucyrus-Erie, carefully swung it around three flagpoles and deposited the steam shovel on a 30-foot by 40-foot concrete pad. A small crowd gathered to watch the precision operation, then hovered around the new resident to admire its condition and pose for photographs.

Jerry Whitehead, chairman of the Idaho Transportation Board, and former chairman Darrell Manning were among the greeters. Both played an instrumental role in securing the earth moving equipment for permanent display at ITD. In doing so, they preserved a piece of construction history that otherwise might have been turned to salvage.

Whitehead, who owns a trailer manufacturing business, was intimately involved in the move from dawn’s first light, to the arrival of dusk. After the steam shovel was positioned on the awaiting pad, the board chairman crawled under its “house” to help remove straps and cables. (top photo)

He also climbed aboard the machine to pose for photos behind the shovel’s controls.

Acquiring, moving and housing the historic implement was a group project:

URS Corp., for donating the steam shovel
Gen. Manning and Whitehead who recognized its historic value and worked to secure it for permanent display.
Brian Ness and Mike Golden for executive support
Inland Crane owner Jim Haener, his family and employees for volunteering to move the steam shovel without cost
Kathy Chase, Andy Guaydacan and ITD facilities crews for site preparation
District 3 Maintenance, Richard Peryer, Dan Hurlbert and Bob Shelton
Boise City Police for escorting the vehicles
ITD Commercial Vehicles and Ada County Highway District for transport permits, and
Countless others who gave part of their Saturday to make the process possible