Work has begun to erect Newcastle’s “monster crane”, which will become a feature in the city’s skyline for the next 18 months.
As reported previously on Chroniclelive, the 120m construction is being put up in Rutherford Street, near St James’ Boulevard , on Saturday and Sunday.
The crane, which can lift as much as eight tonnes, will be used to help erect what is set to be Newcastle’s tallest building - the 27-storey Hadrian’s Tower development.
Work to put it into place, which will be done using a smaller, mobile crane, started on Saturday morning and is expected to finish on Sunday afternoon.
Around 50 metres of the inside lane of St James’ Boulevard’s south-bound carriageway, between the Bath Lane and Westgate Road junctions, will be closed between 9.30am and 3.30pm.
Rutherford Street is already closed and covered by a temporary traffic regulation order - which allows for temporary restrictions on traffic on public roads.
Paul Consterdine, project manager with Tolent Construction, the company building Hadrian’s Tower, said the construction of the crane was going to plan.
He said: “It got a bit gusty last night but, thankfully, the weather is good today, so we’ve been able to get started.
“A mobile crane, which can lift 450 tonnes, was put up yesterday and that will help build the main, tower crane.
“There’s actually two mobile cranes being used to build the bigger crane. The tower crane will be 120m from ground level to the top of the jib and it will be able to lift up to eight tonnes.
“Once built, the tower crane will be used to help build Hadrian’s Tower and it will be in place until March 2020 - it’s a long job as it’s a two-year project.
“We’re hoping the tower crane will be finished tomorrow.”
Hadrian’s Tower is set to become the tallest building in Newcastle when the £46 million project is completed, with the 27-storey tower set to stand at 82m tall.
The building will contain 162 apartments for private rent, which are set to be sold to institutional and private investors.
The £40m project is being developed by The High Street Group.
The tower has been designed with a range of shared facilities and social areas including a launderette, cafe, meeting spaces and a sky lounge with panoramic views over the city centre.
Other features highlighted for investors include luxury ‘ready-to-rent’ furniture packs, an on-site concierge, cleaning services, maintenance, resident support, Wi-Fi and high-speed broadband.
