Big, yellow crane rises for west LRT line

A bright yellow, massive, bridge-like structure that's taken months to assemble will be a key component to helping assemble the west leg of Calgary's LRT line.

The launching truss, which weighs 450 tonnes and stretches the length of a football field, has been taking shape at the west end of downtown.

"Essentially you can think of it as a crane," said Dave Weatherby, project director at SNC-Lavalin, which is building the new line.

"It's a good method when you're working in heavy urban areas, when you're working over top of streets, buildings where you can't necessarily get to with conventional cranes," he explained.

The truss will be used to hoist and place dozens of pre-fabricated concrete sections that will make up the elevated two-kilometre section of the LRT line from Millennium Park west to Crowchild Trail.

"A piece of the truss will come and lower down and pick up the piece of the guideway off the truck and then raise it up to where it's supposed to be in line with the piers underneath and that process will continue over and over again as it works its way west to Crowchild Trail," said Ryan Murray of the city's west LRT office.

The Italian-designed truss has been used to build Vancouver's Canada Line, as well as a transit project in Seattle.

The truss is expected to start installing 12 pieces a day later this month after testing is complete, said Murray. The elevated section is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

The metal machinery has been creating a big shadow over Millennium Park in the past few months.

"Yeah, I'm actually kind of scared if it falls on me," said Jojo Barrientos as he skateboarded in the park.