One of the world's largest floating cranes is about to make its debut on the Tappan Zee Bridge project. I looked out my window this morning and saw the "Left Coast Lifter" on the last leg of its journey from the San Francisco Bay to Old Tappan on the Hudson.
The big crane was originally built for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project, where it earned the name "Left Coast Lifter." Officials in Albany have a new nickname, the “I Lift NY Super Crane.”
This Blue State exchange took a while. Following the route of Henry Hudson this morning the giant crane has been berthed in Jersey City since January, after completing a 6,000-mile journey from San Francisco through the Panama Canal.
The crane is strong enough to lift 1,900 tons at one time, the equivalent of lifting 12 Statues of Liberty. Workers will use the crane, that has a boom length of 328 feet, to lift sections weighing 900 to 1,100 tons of the new $3.9 billion Tappan Zee Bridge into place. The bridge that connects Rockland and Westchester counties is slated to open in 2018.