News Link
CRANES in Action
News Link
CRANES in Action
Building Up the I-285 / I-20 West Interchange
Link-Belt crawler cranes were used to set rebar cages and column forms as crews constructed pier columns for a new skyway at the I-285 / I-20 West Interchange near
Atlanta.
Crawler cranes played a key role in the early stages of the Georgia Department of Transportation’ s $ 1.3 billion I-285 / I-20 West Interchange project near Atlanta, where crews began rebuilding one of the region’ s most heavily traveled corridors.
C. W. Matthews of Marietta, Georgia, served as the lead contractor and utilized two Link-Belt crawler cranes— a 200-ton 248 HSL and a 150-ton 238 HSL— to support construction during the project’ s initial phase. The multiyear effort included new interchange ramps, collector-distributor lanes and the replacement of nearly 30 bridges.
During work on a 2,500-foot-long skyway, the cranes were used to construct pier columns reaching heights of up to 90 feet. Crews lifted and set column forms weighing as much as 24,000 pounds, along with large rebar cages that required precise placement in confined work areas.
C. W. Matthews interchange project manager Mark Dolan said the cranes were well-suited for the demands of highway construction.
“ The 200- and 150-ton Link-Belts are just ideal machines for highway and bridge work in this market,” Dolan said.“ We have a lot of trust in those cranes and the operators when they make those huge picks.”
Veteran operator Ronald Carter, who has spent 50 years with C. W. Matthews, said the cranes performed reliably while handling formwork and rebar cages that required careful alignment.
“ These Link-Belt cranes are made dependable,” Carter said.“ They can do just about anything you want in terms of lifting materials of all kinds.”
Carter also pointed to cab comfort and visibility as important factors during long shifts on the active jobsite.
“ I would recommend these cranes because they’ re easy to run, they’ re comfortable to sit in and they make your job a whole lot easier,” Carter said.“ I enjoy running Link-Belts. I don’ t think I’ d be here this long if I didn’ t.”
Dealer support also factored into the operation. With Atlantic & Southern Equipment’ s Atlanta branch located nearby, C. W. Matthews maintained consistent support as work progressed.
PEOPLE
• Link-Belt has announced two personnel appointments at its Lexington, Kentucky headquarters, naming Jacob Bandy as manager of service parts and Nathan Ramsey as
Bandy marketing specialist for rough terrain cranes.
Jacob Bandy was promoted to manager of service parts, effective January 1, 2026. He joined Link-Belt in January 2020 as parts marketing supervisor and has since been
Ramsey
involved in several initiatives aimed at improving the company’ s service parts operations. Bandy holds a bachelor’ s degree in interdisciplinary studies with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
Link-Belt also named Nathan Ramsey as marketing specialist for rough terrain cranes, effective January 19, 2026. The appointment was announced by Gary Lane, vice president of marketing, sales and customer support, at the company’ s headquarters in Lexington.
In his new role, Ramsey provides marketing and sales support for rough terrain crane products to Link-Belt’ s internal teams and distributor sales personnel. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of West Virginia and brings prior experience from the energy transmission and automotive industries, including work on natural gas pipeline equipment design and vehicle durability testing.
• Engineered Rigging has hired Charles Anderson as an assistant project manager, effective following his internship with the company. Anderson will be based at the company’ s
Anderson headquarters in Valparaiso, Indiana.
In his new role, Anderson will support heavy lifting and specialized transport projects across the United States and Latin America. His responsibilities include project documentation, budget tracking, report generation and assisting with resource allocation, logistics, scheduling and proposal development. He will also help facilitate communication across departments.
Anderson joined Engineered Rigging as an intern in the fall of 2025. He recently graduated from Trine University with a bachelor’ s degree in business administration, along with minors in accounting, business and finance. During his time at Trine, Anderson played on the men’ s lacrosse team and served as team captain during the 2023 – 2024 season.
6
March 2026 • www. cranehotline. com