Crews take ‘next steps’ toward removing teetering crane at Midtown high-rise

Efforts to bring down an unstable crane teetering outside a Midtown high-rise office tower continue Monday, and the resulting road closures could last through the end of the week, construction officials said.

Several blocks in Midtown are closed in the area of West Peachtree and 13th streets as crews work to disassemble the precariously balanced crane, which malfunctioned Friday morning. Crews began the process of reinforcing it Sunday, according to Brasfield & Gorie, the Alabama-based company that owns the machinery.

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

“Significant progress from overnight work enabled an engineer inspection of the crane,” the company said Monday in a statement. “Following the inspection, crews moved to next steps in reinforcing the crane and moving toward the process to safely dismantle the crane.”

A mechanical failure caused the massive crane to tilt as crews were attempting to lower it Friday, officials previously said. After determining it was in danger of falling onto buildings below, Atlanta firefighters went door-to-door clearing hundreds of residents from their apartments and condos.

No one was injured in the construction mishap, and the crane operator was able to make it out safely, fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford told reporters Friday at the scene.

Nearby restaurants were encouraged not to open, and a medical office was forced to close its doors and turn away urgent care patients. Northside Medical Midtown remained closed Monday along with several surrounding businesses. In a tweet, the hospital said it could remain closed “possibly later into the week.”

Brasfield & Gorrie on Saturday brought in two mobile assist cranes, which took hours to assemble and weigh 600 and 900 tons, respectively. It’s unclear how long it may take crews to stabilize the malfunctioning crane and dismantle it.

The company added that once that crane is in pieces, crews will need to disassemble the assist cranes.

“The processes of dismantling the crane and disassembling the equipment used in this effort will take significant time,” Brasfield & Gorrie said. “Thanks to initial reinforcement work, we are working with building management of the evacuated residential building to provide a window of time when residents will be able to safely retrieve necessary items.”

West Peachtree remains shut down between 11th and 14th streets, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. In addition, 12th and 13th streets are blocked off between West Peachtree and Spring streets.

Brasfield & Gorrie on Sunday said West Peachtree could remain closed through the end of the week. The company did not provide an updated timeline Monday.

“Since Friday, we have been working together with building management of the evacuated residential building to make sure their residents are safe and to provide accommodations as needed during the evacuation. We remain in communication with officials, property owners and other neighbors who are impacted by this situation,” the company said.

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Construction on the 31-story office tower at 1105 West Peachtree was nearing completion before the mishap. The 410-foot building is set to include 675,000 square feet of office space and has two confirmed major tenants, Google and the law firm Smith, Gambrell & Russell.

The office tower has been under construction since December 2018 and is expected to open this fall. Developers say it’s the tallest building to be constructed in Atlanta since the Great Recession.

Drivers can avoid the area by using Peachtree Street, Piedmont Road or the Downtown Connector to get around the construction site as work continues.