(Temporary) campus landmark dismantled

Two cranes combined to dismantle the tower crane

Photos by Christopher Gannon.

The tower crane at the Student Innovation Center construction site, which altered the campus skyline for the last 18 months, came down March 22. Using two other cranes, an aerial-tolerant team from Barnhart Crane and Rigging, Des Moines, took apart the 230-foot structure and, piece by piece, loaded it on flatbed semitrailers for the owner, Blue Hat Hoisting.

The five-level, $84 million Student Innovation Center is about 60 percent complete and on schedule for a spring semester 2020 opening.

Crew separates two pieces of tower crane arm
Crew guides tower crane piece onto flatbed trailer
Final arm piece is lifted away from crane tower