Last Lift at Hanford’s High-Level Waste Facility

RICHLAND, Wash. — A 680-ton crane recently completed its final lift at the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s (WTP) High-Level Waste (HLW) Facility, marking the end of a major chapter in heavy-lift operations. The crane, known as “Big Red” by HLW construction personnel, was used in some of the facility’s heaviest equipment installations, including vessels weighing roughly 280 tons.

Watch a timelapse of the move here.

Over the course of its service, Big Red completed 23 lifts at the HLW Facility — 11 in the last year alone — and totaled 111 lifts across the entire WTP Project. After the final lift, the HLW rigging team relocated the crane to a nearby staging area for potential future use. This accomplishment also represents continued progress on completing the HLW Facility’s roof, moving the project closer to its next phase of construction.