TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - The “I Lift NY” crane has begun pulling its weight.

Officials say the enormous floating crane pulled off its first big lift on Friday.

The crane arrived in New York last year to help build a new Tappan Zee bridge over the Hudson River,

Officials say it hoisted and set a 600-ton concrete cap for one of the piles that will support the new bridge. The new span is replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge between Westchester and Rockland counties.

The crane can lift nearly 2,000 tons. It will also be used to lift sections of the new bridge into place and to demolish the existing bridge.

Previously, the crane helped rebuild the earthquake-damaged San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It has no propulsion, so it was towed 6,000 miles from California to New York.

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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