The I Lift NY super crane is currently undergoing preparations for its job on the New NY Bridge project.
The New NY Bridge team is ramping up construction as spring breathes new life into the project site. Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) will double its work force in the coming months, with new hires and contractors already bustling over the thawed Hudson River. As pile driving continues on the river, dock builders, carpenters, welders, iron workers, mechanics and masons are preparing materials off-site.
All of these endeavors are in preparation for the team’s biggest player, the I Lift NY super crane. When it arrives on the project site, the massive machine will raise large sections of the bridge at once, saving the project team time and money.
I Lift NY is currently moored downriver in Jersey City, where the team is modifying the super crane for work on the New NY Bridge project. This process includes revving up the onboard systems and inspecting every inch of the machine to ensure I Lift NY will be in proper working order. Afterward, the machine will be rigorously tested for load capacity and safety before making its way up the Hudson River.
The super crane is a complex piece of machinery with generators and mechanical systems that were carefully shrink-wrapped and covered with tarps to protect them from corrosive sea-water while in transit to New York Harbor. All non-essential systems were shut down on the vessel, while the rest were put into a special mode to conserve energy and preserve minimum electrical requirements. All systems will be restarted, warmed up and tested before they are ready to be used on the project.
The I Lift NY super crane arrived in New York harbor over the winter after a 6,000-mile journey from San Francisco. The mega-machine was specially modified to make the trip, as it was not originally designed to sail the open ocean, nor squeeze easily through the Panama Canal. Normally, large pontoons are used to keep the crane balanced as it lifts tons of material for construction. However, these pontoons had to be removed in order to fit through the canal, and must now be reattached.
Even the crane’s host vessel, an enormous barge, had to be modified to carry I Lift NY across the ocean. Wave guards were attached to ensure the vessel could withstand the unpredictable open seas, and a cradle was welded to the bow of the ship to support the crane’s huge 300-foot boom. Both modifications will have to be carefully removed before the crane is put into working order.
On equipment as large as the super crane, even reweaving the boom wire can take weeks. TZC expects the crane to arrive on the project site as soon as June.
I Lift NY is registered as the Left Coast Lifter by the U.S. Coast Guard, and is owned by TZC.
 This story is an excerpt from the April Issue of the New NY Bridge Newsletter, a monthly publication designed to keep everyone abreast of the latest news about the project. For more stories and the complete edition of the April newsletter, Click Here |
