WorldWide Drilling Resource

(Ironically, Dad is now employed as a bridge superintendent for Anderson- Columbia which was started by Joe H. Anderson Sr.) As is so often the case in life, chal- lenges and setbacks make for memo- rable stories because of what they teach us. Dad and his crew carried many lessons away from the Suwanee River. Due to problems they faced and overcame, the bridge project became one the men would never forget. It was the jobsite where the Fairchild crew truly learned the valuable and de- manding art of drill- ing into the earth. G e o l o g i c a l chal lenges were present right from the star t . Dur ing the drill shaft test installation, large voids were found. With each yel l from their boss - “We’re losing time!” - the men had to make adjustments and adapt to the unwieldy drilling job at hand. Dad soon coined his team “The Heavy Duty Rigging and Drill Shaft Crew.” Negotiating the dense and cav- ernous formations required creativity. Out of necessity, dad designed and fab- ricated various devices. Bailout buckets were made into cutting tools; casing had to be installed in four stages to depths beyond 75 feet by the rotary method. However, overcoming these tech- nical and geological setbacks was only the beginning... Tune in next month for Part 2. 14 JULY 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® A Foundation Drilling Memory - Part 1 by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® My dad, Danny Burgess has been building bridges since 1967. In a recent interview at his kitchen table, my dad gladly shared memories about foundation drilling, and lessons learned while “making structures be- come part of the world.” A certain project stood out in his mind. Of course, it all began with a hole in the ground. It was the early 1980s, and dad was a bridge foreman for Fairchild of Florida Construction Company. Fairchild decided to begin in-house drilling, and purchased drill shaft equip- ment from Watson USA, including a model 5000 crane-mount drill rig. Due to his expertise in setting up cranes, Dad was chosen to direct drill shaft operations. Concerned, he told his boss, “Now I don’t know anything about this drill shaft stuff,” to which his boss replied, “Danny, you just drill a hole and fill it full of concrete.” Soon, they would both learn the process was not quite so simple. As time passed, Dad became well acquainted with the new drill rig. He said the powerful machine could get the job done. About a year after the equipment was purchased, Dad was tasked with dismantling the old bridge where U.S. Highway 19/98 ALT 27 crosses the Suwanee River in Fanning Springs, Florida. As part of the project, he also super- vised construction of the drill shaft and beam placement from barges for a new bridge over the river which is now named the Joe H. Anderson Sr. Bridge. My dad, doing the work he loves. Photos courtesy of Danny Burgess. & ! $ # & # " ! $ # & # & " & ! " & " $ # & & ! & " & & "! " ! & " " ! ! ! !% $ # "! ! September Issue Deadlines: Space Reservation July 25 th Ad Copy - Display & Classified August 1 st See you at Jubilee and Energy Expo