Roof crane to be taken down from Capitol - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

Roof crane to be taken down from Capitol

ALBANY, N.Y. - Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the crane serving the Capitol restoration project will be permanently dismantled Monday.

The highly visible 274-foot-high red tower crane will be taken down more than a year ahead of initial estimates.

"Over the past 19 months, my administration has worked to open the doors of this beautiful building to the citizens of New York State, and the improvements have made the Capitol a more welcoming and educational place for the tens of thousands of people who have visited since January 2011," Governor Cuomo said. "With the crane coming down more than a year ahead of schedule, the accelerated restoration project continues to move forward, saving taxpayer money and making much-needed improvements to the home of our state's government."

The crane will be taken down using a "climber" machine that will remove vertical sections of the crane and then slide them out to the jib of the crane, which will then lower the sections to the ground.

One additional ground mobile crane will also be brought in to help disassemble the lower parts of the crane and the jib and the counterweights.

Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn Destito says there has been a crane of one kind or another in the sightline of the Capitol since the roof repair project began in 2000.

It is anticipated that the crane will be completely dismantled by the end of the week.