The Three Cranes

There are currently three cranes working on the jetty: a red crane, a large red crane, and a crane with white crane mast. Each crane has its own stone transport barge. The transport barge is roped to the crane barge and both are moved together. Each pair of barges (crane & transport) is moved between the jetty and the stone loading area on the beach by two tug boats. The cranes off load their stone cargo onto the top of jetty where the excavators move them blocks into their final position.

 

This is the larger of the two red mast cranes. It has a wider base and treads, and a large 

counter-weight on the rear. It is use amongst others jobs to lift the excavators on and off 

the barges onto the jetty.

The white masted crane.

The smaller of the two red cranes.

All three cranes at work.

Excavator Moving Stone Between Piles

Beginning in late June, stone deliveries have really ramped up. A large amount of stone is being stored on the beach staging area. When the stone arrives on the truck, it is initially placed in the pile nearest the delivery area. The stone is subsequently moved to a second pile. From there it is moved to the edge of the Merrimack River for loading onto the crane barges. This is a sequence of still photos showing the stone blocks being moved between the two piles.

June 28 2015 Coastal Storm

A coastal storm with winds out of the northeast dump a lot of rain and kicked up some high surf. I traveled out to north end of Plum Island during the storm hoping to get some photos of the waves crashing over the jetty. As the photos show, a dense fog bank obscured much of the jetty. I tried to use an umbrella to protect the camera from the wind driven rain but all it did was become a big sail!

All of the barges had been brought into the beach area and anchored to protect them against the strong winds and high surf. I went back the next day and got some video of the waves breaking over the Salisbury jetty. As you can see from the video, the waves and high tide cover the broken sections of the jetty. The repaired sections are several feet above the high tide mark.

The day after the storm ...

 

 

Site as Viewed From Plum Island

As mentioned in the previous post, you can get a good view of the Salisbury jetty construction from the the northern tip of Plum Island. There are a limited number of free parking spaces. If those are filled up, there is a paid parking lot. I haven't walked out to the south jetty yet to get photos but you can get good views from the beach along the Merrimack River.

A third crane and third stone transport barge are now working at the site. It easily recognized by its white crane mast.

There are two red cranes. This is the smaller of the two. It is anchored along the beach near the stone pile ready to load more stone on to the transport barge.

This is the larger of the two red cranes. In addition to loading stone onto the barge, it also used to lift the excavators onto a barge so they can be move to the outer section of the jetty. I will have a video of this in a future post.

One of two tugboats which move the barges between the beach staging area and the jetty.

Large boulders are placed on the rubber mats to keep them from washing away.

Two excavators parked on the jetty for the weekend.

The "No Wake" zone has been extended to include the mouth of the Merrimack. The double fine for construction sites applies along this stretch. The Newburyport Daily News reports the Harbormaster will be enforcing it.

A couple enjoy the nice weather on the beach.

Summer Visitors to Salisbury & Plum Island

The construction on the Salisbury jetty has only had a minor impact on the summer visitors boating in the Merrimack River, visiting Salisbury Beach State Reservation, or fishing off the north end of Plum Island. There had been some concerns before construction began, that summer beach goers and tourists would go elsewhere along the coastline. On the recent hot days, the main beach parking lot at the state reservation has been nearly full. The trucks hauling stones in from a quarry in Rhode Island have had to share the reservation road with car loads of beach goers.

The north end of Plum Island along the Merrimack River is great place for a picnic on the beach. It is rarely crowded because there is no swimming along this stretch of beach due to strong currents. It is a great place to get a view of construction  on the jetty.

A sail boat navigates the channel heading into Newburyport Harbor.

On a clear day, you can see the Isles of Shoals in the distance. (Click on the photo to enlarge it)

The mouth of the Merrimack River can be busy on some days with sail and power boat traffic.

This is favorite location for striped bass fisherman. they setup of their poles in standings and enjoy the day in their beach chairs as they hope to catch "stripers" for dinner.

A couple takes advantage of the empty lifeguard stand to get a nice view.

At the Salisbury Beach State Reservation, beach goers setup for the day outside of 

the construction area.

A good part of the main parking lot remains open while construction is ongoing.

Excavators Working in the Water (Almost)

This video was shot at high tide. The ocean is coming up nearly to the top of the broken down section of the jetty. One of excavators is working on this section. The excavator dips the claw into the water to see how far down the rocks are. Once the operator determines the depth, an appropriate size block is chosen and place in that location.

The second excavator is makings its way further out on the jetty. It stops to made adjust to the rubber mats placed on top of then jetty to create stable surface for the tractors to travel over. The construction crew takes care to create as safe a working environment as possible to protect themselves and the equipment.

"Dancing Tractors"

There are usual two or three excavators working out on the Salisbury jetty. What happens when one excavator needs to pass the other on top of the jetty? One of the excavators pulls off onto the short spur jetty wall to let the other pass. This video captures the moment. I couldn't resist titling this one "dancing tractors".