The I Lift NY super crane makes its debut at the project site.
Following a 6,000 mile journey that included transit through the Panama Canal, the New NY Bridge project’s I Lift NY super crane arrived at the Hudson River construction site on October 6.
The final leg of I Lift NY’s trip began before sunrise when it departed its temporary berth in New York Harbor. Two tugboats guided the barge-mounted super crane past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson. Passing the Manhattan skyline, under the George Washington Bridge and along the Palisades, I Lift NY drew many spectators throughout the crystal clear autumn morning. Governor Andrew Cuomo and Congresswoman Nita Lowey welcomed the crane as it arrived just south of the existing Tappan Zee Bridge shortly before noon.
“The New NY Bridge project is a symbol of partnership and progress – it is tactile proof that the new New York is here, with a government that works more efficiently and tackles problems more affordably,” Governor Cuomo said. “The I Lift NY super crane will speed up construction time and it is one of the factors that helped save the State more than one billion dollars compared to early estimates.”
The I Lift NY super crane is 328 feet tall, which is taller than a 30-story building, and can lift up to 1,900 tons, the equivalent of 12 Statues of Liberty. The huge lifting capability of the floating crane will enable Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) to pre-fabricate huge sections of the new twin-span bridge off-site, saving both time and money as well as enhancing project safety and quality. Also, the barge-mounted crane sits high in the water despite its enormous size and thereby reduced the need for dredging on the project by 50 percent.
This fall, I Lift NY will begin placing the new bridge’s massive pile caps, girders and deck segments. The super crane will be used to place giant modular sections of the new bridge, each of which weigh 900 to 1,100 tons and will be brought to the construction site by barge from off-site staging areas and fabrication facilities. The super crane will also help dismantle the existing Tappan Zee Bridge by removing sections as large as 1,000 tons, enabling more rapid deconstruction than if the work was carried out by standard-sized cranes.
Earlier this year, the super crane traveled through the Panama Canal on its way to New York. At a facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey, I Lift NY was modified for work on the New NY Bridge project, a process that included improving its operating systems and inspecting every inch of the equipment.
Owned by TZC and officially registered with the U.S Coast Guard as the Left Coast Lifter, the super crane’s extraordinary capabilities will be instrumental to completing the new bridge on schedule in 2018.
