A construction landmark inched off the midtown Sacramento skyline Saturday as crews dismantled the 250-foot tower crane used to build Sutter Medical Center's new Women's and Children's Center.
"You always hope for more, but we got the horizontal portion of the crane down (Saturday) and everything came down safely," said superintendent Ken Moehling of Boldt Construction. "We'll hopefully have it done by the end of (today)."
Looming over 29th Street for 32 months, the red crane has lifted massive steel girders and other materials for the hospital's expansion project. A second tower crane used for the large job was dismantled in April 2012.
Saturday, about a dozen workers – including several suspended more than 200 feet off the ground – carefully took apart the jib, the main horizontal section.
To remove the tower crane, a 350-foot assist crane was erected to hoist about 20 huge segments out of place.
Each piece weighs 20,000 to 40,000 pounds, Moehling said.
Meanwhile, both lanes of westbound Capitol Avenue will remain closed to traffic along with one eastbound lane between 28th and 29th streets until Tuesday afternoon, when the crane dismantlement and cleanup should be complete.
Expected to open next year, the Anderson Lucchetti Women's and Children's Center ranks as the tallest building – 179 feet, 3 inches – in midtown Sacramento. The $750 million expansion includes a three-story structure over L Street, connecting the Women's and Children's Center with Sutter General Hospital.
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