Left Coast Lifter - San Francisco Bay, CA
Posted by: 
DougK
N 37° 49.382 W 122° 18.970
10S E 560182 N 4186400
The Left Coaster Lifter is a 25-story crane mounted on a barge. It has been used in the construction of the replacement west span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In 2011 the NCSEA cited the Lifter as an Outstanding Project.
Waymark Code: WMH7GB
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/03/2013
Views: 3
The
Left Coast Lifter is a barge-mounted crane designed to erect the major components of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge self-anchored suspension span. Owned by American Bridge/Fluor Daniel Joint Venture, and fabricated by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co, Ltd., it is the largest barge crane on the West Coast. The boom, or arm, is 25 stories tall and can lift 1700 metric tons, equivalent to approximately one thousand automobiles. The barge is towed by tugboat and adjusted using the barge’s computer-controlled positions system. The structure can be folded down onto the barge for transport overseas or within United States waterways.
The Left Coast Lifter earned its name in 2008 when the U.S. Coast Guard unexpectedly declared it ineligible under maritime law to work in domestic waters. The Jones Act of 1920 says vessels carrying goods and passengers between domestic ports must be U.S.-owned, assembled and crewed. The barge would be permitted to work on the Bay Bridge if the contractor first put it to work hauling materials on the Left, er, West Coast. After the Lifter finished its domestic hauling duties, its owners were free to send it to Shanghai, where it was outfitted with its distinctive crane.
The Left Coast Lifter arrived at the San Francisco Bay anchorage in March 2009 aboard a ship that submerged 21 feet beneath the barge until its mammoth load floated free. The Lifter is 400 feet long and slightly less than 100 feet wide. The frame holding its Chinese crane is 130 feet tall and features a twin 328-foot boom. It can lift up to 1,725 metric tons, or 3.8 million pounds, the equivalent of 656 fully loaded SUVs.
The Left Coast Lifter also made news when it helped a neighbor. In August 2009, an old, 300-ton Navy tugboat sank off Treasure Island. The crane easily hauled it off the bottom of the bay.
The red, white and blue Left Coast Lift can be spotted to the south of the approach lanes at the east end of the Bay Bridge. It will leave its Oakland Pier 7 berth under tow in the summer of 2013 and head to New York, where it will help build the 3.1-mile replacement Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River.
The Lifter can be seen in Google Satellite View and it can also be seen in Google Street View.
Source: San Jose Mercury News - May 28, 2013