New Portland Bridge and Tower Cranes

I have always loved public transportation, which is one of the main reasons I love the city of Portland so much. Tri-Met has been one of my best friends ever since I commuted from Beaverton to OHSU as a lab geek in college. We recently lived about 50 feet from the MAX tracks when we rented an apartment on East Burnside Street near our old community garden.

When I heard the news that the city would be building a new bridge across the Willamette River, and it was specifically designed for public transportation only... well, I just about danced on the ceiling right then and there! Every time I drive through downtown I have to take a glance over to the South Waterfront area to see how the construction is going on the new bridge and on OHSU's new buildings as well. If I'm not driving by, then I check out the webcams here and here at least once a week.

However, one thing has always boggled my mind... how to those super tall cranes do what they do without falling over? They support SO much weight and yet never fall or tip over. The beauty and magic of this engineering feat has always escaped me... until NOW!

I finally relieved my urge to do some research and find out how these enormous structures are built. They are called "Tower Cranes" and have an amazingly creative design. This is definitely one of the coolest videos I have seen in a long time. Check out the beauty and creativity in assembling a tower crane:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB91Sm-kGJ8