The crane erected on the Keira Street building site at the weekend is the first of two to be put up.Picture: ANDY ZAKELI
It is not the biggest, strongest or tallest the region has ever seen, but the new crane at the GPT West Keira site is proving to be a real head-turner.
The 40-metre high structure - complete with 60-metre arm - was pieced together over the weekend after a mammoth logistical effort to transport various sections of the crane to the Wollongong CBD site.
"Certainly getting all of the parts of the crane to Wollongong and then putting it together over a 48-hour period takes a lot of planning," Wollongong Central centre manager Dean Young said.
"It's not so much the number of pieces but the sizes of them that makes it difficult - there was quite a number of big sections to bring in and there were challenges to getting them on site."
The crane, which is the first of two to be delivered at the site before the end of the year, was erected on schedule after poor weather initially held up construction on Saturday. A section of Keira Street was closed to traffic over the weekend while the crane was pieced together.
Mr Young thanked the community for their patience, but said there would be more to come when a second crane is erected on site in the next few months.
The crane is expected to dominate the skyline until the exterior construction of the development is completed in around six to nine months.
Mr Young said the crane - which allows the builder to move equipment and materials into and around the site - will speed up construction dramatically.
"This will enable us to get all those deliveries into the construction site as quickly, safely and efficiently as we can," he said.
