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Tower Crane Dismantling

Barnhart was hired to dismantle a 235' tall tower crane at a site in downtown Seattle. They mobilized two cranes, a 550-ton GMK7550 and a 55-ton MBT 55, moving three loads of counterweight and two loads of luffing jib through the streets in the early morning.

To set up the cranes, trolley lines near the Space Needle had to be deenergized and deactivated. The crew also had to coordinate with the City of Seattle, Seattle Department of Transportation and King County Metro bus service, as well as police officers to block off adjacent streets.

The crane was dismantled piece by piece starting with the outer jib. Each piece was lifted with the 550-ton crane and set by the 55-ton assist crane to a horizontal position and loaded out on trucks.

With all jibs removed, the crew focused on the turntable, which was the heaviest piece at over 22,000 pounds. The final piece was the tower. From start to finish, the crane was dismantled within 10 hours.