DAVENPORT, Iowa — If you have driven down River Drive in Davenport over the past several days, the giant crane floating on top of a barge in the Mississippi River has been hard to miss.
And on Thursday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued a time-honored tradition.
"This is not something that happens every day," said Colonel Steve Sattinger, the commander of the Rock Island District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Col. Sattinger presided over Thursday's ceremony, christening the new Quad Cities crane barge.
"The barge that this one is replacing, the crane it’s replacing was commissioned in 1986, so we had it for over 35 years," Col. Sattinger said.
Park rangers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided tours of the new crane barge after the ceremony.
One of those park rangers leading the way was Mike McKean.
"The good news is this crane likes weight," McKean said. "It has the potential to lift 1,000,000 pounds or 500 tons. Now generally it’s not going to need to lift that much and the farther out the crane stretches it has a lighter capacity to lift up."
The crane itself is nearly 200 feet tall, and can rotate 360 degrees, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
On that tour, visitors meet crew members like Keith Senkbeil.
"It's pretty tough. It's a pretty strong crane," Senkbeil said.
Senkbeil is the person that oversees the new crane, which will work primarily at locks and dams when gates need to be repaired or replaced.
"We can be folded down, ready to move in about 30 minutes," Senkbeil said. "I'd probably have to get a crew together, about 10 to 12 men, and we could have a gate out in two hours."
The new crane also has another advantage over its predecessor.
"This one will get about 12 foot lower than the old Quad Cities, which in times of high water we can go where we used to couldn't go," Senkbeil said.
Senkbeil calls this crane an asset to every district along the Mississippi River.
"This is gonna change the way we've done stuff historically," said Senkbeil.
The crane is primarily responsible for projects in the 314-mile stretch of the Mississippi River in the Rock Island district, which stretches from Wisconsin to Missouri. The barge will also help outside the district when needed.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue tours on Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. in Davenport at River Heritage Park.
