LIFTING
SITEREPORT
C
onstruction justwrappedup
on432ParkAvenue, ahigh-
rise residential tower in the
heart ofManhattan,NewYork. Topping
out at 1,396 feet, thebuilding isnowNew
YorkCity’s second tallest building (the
third tallest in theU.S.), and for a short
time,will be the tallest residential building
in theworld.After it isovertakenbynew
construction in theMiddleEast, itwill
still remain the tallest in theWestern
Hemisphere.
A26.5-tonPotainMR415 tower crane
wasoneof theproject’smost important
tools. The extremeheights called for an
electric tower cranewithan excellent
climbingpackage, high capacity, and
most importantly, a fast line speed. 432
ParkAvenue is the largest building ever
constructedwithan electric tower crane.
LaGrange,N.Y.-basedRoger&Sons
Concretehandled the liftingworkon the
project. The father-and-son run company
specifically chose theMR415after seeing
itworkonotherhigh-profileprojects.
AsTonyRodrigues explained, the
companywanted tomakeuseof theMR
415’s electricpower andhigh line speeds
that canhit speeds approaching900 feet
perminute.
“Whenyou’repicking loadsoff of aNYC
street and lifting them700 feet ormore
in the air, aquick line speedand sturdy
winch can really cut downon the amount
of time spent on the job,” saidRodrigues.
“Since the constructionwas scheduled
around the crane’s ability to lift, thismeant
the entireprojectwas completed sooner.”
The companybeganusing theMR415
on theproject inSeptemberof 2012.
At that point, thebuildinghad risen to
320 feet,withanother 1,076 feet yet to
be constructed.Afterusing the crane
to remove another crane that hadbeen
usedat thebeginningof the construction,
Roger&SonsConcrete set about lifting
90 foot-long rebarbeam cages and9-ton
rebar column cages thatwere filledwith
components for thebuilding.
Riggedwith98 feet of jib, thepicks
weighedup to24 tons, andmanyof the
loadswereplacedat a72-foot radius
Such great heights
Roger & Sons Concrete recently constructed the
tallest residential skyscraper in theworld using a
PotainMR415 electric tower crane.
Working above the clouds requiredmeticulous focus and
communication between the signal men and crane operators.
37
JANUARY 2015
ACT
(leaving free a remaining27 feet of the
crane’s available radius). Theuseof rebar
cagesmeant the company couldoptimize
eachpick, lifting several items for the
constructionat once, rather than in
separate lifts. Typically, the cranewas set
upwith210 feet of tower, and it climbed
up in thebuildingwithan internal
climbing systemasworkprogressed.
Near the completionof theproject, the
MR415was some1,500 feet above the
street.At that time, line speedbecame
crucial to the successof theproject.At
speeds approaching900 feet perminute,
