Tower crane turning heads at Grande Ronde Hospital construction site

Nov. 28—LA GRANDE — Cameron Rousseau doesn't need a jolt of espresso to get his blood pumping each weekday morning.

The last 130 feet of his journey to work in La Grande does the trick.

Rousseau is the tower crane operator at the site of the $72.5 million Grande Ronde Hospital capital construction project on Sunset Drive. Each morning he climbs to the top of the project's tower crane to reach its 8-foot tall, 6-by-6-foot cab, from which he operates the project's tower crane. Rousseau goes up 13 ladders during a strenuous ascent that takes nearly 30 minutes to complete.

"It wakes you up, that's for sure," he said.

The 300,000-pound tower crane Rousseau operates is turning many heads in La Grande. It may be the tallest ever to operate in Union County, according to project manager Jordan Tiegs, of Bouten Construction Co., based in Richland, Washington, the firm in charge of the hospital project.

Tower cranes, unlike standard cranes that are sometimes attached to a vehicle, are operated high above the construction site rather than at ground level. Rousseau, while making his daily climb, said he never fears for his safety because the tower has security cages to catch him should he lose his balance.

"You would have to try to fall," said Rousseau, who has been operating tower cranes in the western United States for 16 years.

Rousseau makes his steep trek methodically, conducting a safety inspection each morning during his upward commute.

"I can't go up it all at once," he said.

Once settled into his "sky office," Rousseau readies for a long day. His 10-hour workdays are spent in the cab, moving heavy materials like concrete forms and metal.

Rousseau, who lives in Salem and has worked as a tower crane operator since he was 18, has been at the Grande Ronde Hospital project site for several weeks now. He rates the work site as one of his favorites, in part because of the view he has of the Wallowa Mountains.

"It is one of the best," he said.

Eye in the sky

The crane operator respects heights but he does not fear them, he said. People who are frightened by heights have a difficult time feeling comfortable in Rousseau's work space, especially because of the glass section under the operator's chair that provides a view of the ground far below.

Some people who have accompanied Rousseau on other tower crane work sites have taken one look through the floor and wanted to leave immediately, feeling that the environment around them is spinning.

"It is trippy," he said. "A lot of people don't know they have vertigo until they look down."

Looking down is what Rousseau spends much of his workday doing. He said operating a tower crane is a little bit like using the controls of a video game. The difference, though, is there is no margin for error.

"If you make a mistake someone could be killed," he said.

Strong winds are among the most challenging elements crane operators deal with. Rousseau said it is difficult to move materials attached to a crane's cable and prevent them from swaying when the wind is blowing hard. Depending upon the weight and type of items being moved, tower cranes are shut down anytime the wind is blowing at least 20 mph.

High winds, though, never make Rousseau fear for his safety.

"I experienced 100 mph winds in San Francisco, which didn't bother me," he said.

One reason he feels secure is that tower cranes have solid foundations. The platform for the tower crane at the Grande Ronde Hospital site, Tiegs said, is made of 490,000 pounds of concrete and other support elements.

"It took two weeks to put it in," Tiegs said.

The project manager said safety is always paramount at construction sites, especially when dealing with cranes.

"Anything related to cranes has the highest risk," Tiegs said.

He added that tower cranes are safer to use than traditional cranes because it takes less time to move heavy materials. Tiegs said the less time something is suspended in the air, while being moved, the less chance there is for something bad to happen.

"Faster is safer," he said.

Tiegs also said tower cranes are safer because the operator has a better view of everything that is happening at a work site.

"Our crane operator is our eye in the sky," he said.

A huge weathervane

The tower crane Rousseau is operating can lift up to 26,000 pounds. The crane itself was shipped to La Grande on six semi trucks. The 300,000-pound crane consists of its base, a tower and an engine that allows the crane to rotate. Tiegs said many people have observed that the crane spins during off hours at the construction site when the wind is blowing and fear this means something is wrong.

Tiegs said the crane's braking mechanism is released after the workday, allowing the crane to spin like a weathervane. The crane rotates its full 360 degrees with the natural direction of the wind. This allows the crane to move with the wind instead of fighting against it, reducing the chance that the crane could be damaged.

Tiegs is delighted by the local curiosity expressed about the crane and the hospital's construction project in general.

"It is always fun to come to a small town because the community takes such an interest," he said.

Grande Ronde Ronde Hospital's project will add a 98,000-square-foot surgical services building at the hospital campus in La Grande and is expected to be completed in 2024.

Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer. Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@lagrandeobserver.com.