Barge-Mounted Supercrane Inches Toward Tappan Zee Bridge

Photo courtesy New York State Thruway Authority

The Left Coast Lifter has been nicknamed "I Lift NY" for its upcoming work on the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

The Left Coast Lifter, a barge-mounted crane capable of muscling more than 1,900 tons, passed through the Panama Canal on Jan. 17 during a 5,700-nautical-mile journey from San Francisco to Tarrytown, N.Y., where it will be used to build the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

A joint venture of American Bridge and Fluor custom-built the shear-leg crane, costing roughly $50 million, for the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge's east-span replacement, which opened to traffic last September.

Weighing in at more than 4,200 tons and sporting twin 328-ft-long booms, the rig is powered by three 806-horsepower main generators. A joint venture of American Bridge, Fluor, Granite Construction and Traylor Bros. is building the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

After a short stint as a freelance contributor to ENR, Tudor joined the editorial staff in 2002 and was a managing editor. His areas of expertise included construction equipment, trucks, tools, materials and global construction. He was a certified crane operator and reported heavy construction news in the U.S. and outside—including Europe, Dubai, India and China.

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