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[bfgrad]

While chitchatting waiting for an oil change for my car, I was told the world's largest crane is currently at the Shell ethane cracker plant being built in Center Township right here in Beaver County. Apparently the crane had previously been in China and was shipped to the cracker plant construction site by barge. Amazingly the world's 2nd largest crane is also on site!

[hs]

That's pretty cool. There is a lot of construction going on in that area

[yepper]

watched some good videos on them on youtube.   

different breed of men! fascinating stuff!

[Downriver]

Just googled it.  That crane can lift the equivalent of 700 cars.  That's some serious power!

[yepper]

love the stories  of the erection and dismantling of those big cranes.

[bfgrad]

That's pretty cool. There is a lot of construction going on in that area

That is THE largest construction project I have ever personally seen. The power line towers are the biggest things I've seen, too. Everything just seems gigantic.

I'm not old enough to remember when the big mills were being built, but I can imagine those were on a similar scale.

[SteamRollers1]

If they're going to frack be prepared to feel lots of small earthquakes every day.

[bfgrad]

Cranes are now on site.

http://www.timesonline.com/news/20180920/two-of-worlds-largest-cranes-come-to-shell-cracker-site

[hs]

If they're going to frack be prepared to feel lots of small earthquakes every day.

The cracker plant doesn't frac and do you know how many hydraulic fractured wells are around us in Western Pa right now? Those small earthquakes were coming from companies in places like Texas and Oklahoma that were getting rid of brine water in old abandoned wells and/or mines. Not allowed to do that in PA.

[bfgrad]

The crane lifted the quench tower into place starting 4AM Sunday and concluding today. That was the crane's only job, so it will be disassembled and move on to its next work site.

http://www.timesonline.com/news/20181008/one-of-largest-cranes-in-world-lifts-shell-equipment-into-place

[bfgrad]

As it turns out, the crane is still working, lifting "slurry loop towers" into place. http://www.timesonline.com/news/20181219/one-of-largest-cranes-in-world-in-action-at-shell-site

Now that the leaves are off the trees, you can see this crane coming down from the hill onto the Vanport Bridge. It is huge! It dwarfs the other also gigantic cranes on site. I saw it with one of these loop towers on its hook and the tower looked like a toy compared to this crane's size. It is impressive! If you are travelling down 60 in the Center/Shippingsport area, definitely worth pulling off to the side of the road to gawk for a minute.