Construction on Phase 1 of Aggie Square has amped up, and while the structure itself calls for attention from passerby, something far larger has grabbed the campus’s attention: the tower crane. 

Standing at 250 feet tall, the two tower cranes on the Aggie Square lot have been crucial in the early stages of construction, but this work could not be done without a highly experienced and committed operating engineer, Martin Beauchamp.  

Martin began as a rigger in Wyoming, becoming head rigger within six months, and eventually made the transition into cranes. After building up some experience, the Oakland native returned to California to try his hand at a tower crane, and seven years later, Beauchamp was invited to join the Aggie Square project as a subcontractor under Whiting Turner. 

The tower crane for the Life Sciences and Technology East building, one of the two on the Aggie Square construction site, was dismantled on September 30th. With a crew of 10 to 15 people including crane operators, riggers, truck drivers, and most importantly steel workers, the entire process took three days. The first day was setting up and assembling the 300-ton crawler crane. This crawler crane, on the second day, was responsible for taking apart the large tower crane in sections with the help of an even smaller 75-ton Hydro assist crane. Steel workers were essential in rigging the sections onto crawler cranes which were suspended more than 200 feet in the air. By the final third day, the tower crane was completely dismantled, and the 300-ton crawler crane was taken apart. 

The remaining crane for the Life Long Learning building is planned to stay until January of 2024.