Large construction crane ushers in next phase of Legislative Campus Modernization

| By DES Communications

A conceptual rendering of a crane towering above the Pritchard Library construction site, with the Cherberg, Insurance, and Legislative Buildings to the south of the site.
Rendering of the crane on the Pritchard construction site.

As construction on the expansion of the Joel Pritchard State Library on the West Capitol Campus continues, DES will get an assist from a 188-foot-tall tower crane expected to remain in place until early 2026.

For reference, the dome of the nearby Legislative Building is 287-feet high. Drivers and pedestrians passing by may be able to catch views of the crane as crews use it to build the expanded Joel Pritchard State Library Building, home to members of the House of Representatives and their staff, the Code Revisers Office, and other state support staff.

Crews will use two smaller mobile cranes while assembling the larger tower crane on Thursday, Oct. 31, and remove them once assembly is complete. DES expects that the crane will be fully operational by Monday, Nov. 4.

Crews will program the crane so that it cannot swing loads outside the construction fencing. However, there will be times when the long arm, known as the mast, will swing beyond the construction site while not carrying anything.

Legislative Campus Modernization

The second major phase of Legislative Campus Modernization (LCM), the Pritchard Rehabilitation and Expansion Project addresses significant functional, health, and life safety hazards of the Joel Pritchard State Library. The revitalized building will be net zero ready to accommodate future rooftop solar panels and offsite renewable energy and reduced carbon through electric HVAC systems. The building is on track to receive at least a silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating marking a building as environmentally responsible and resource efficient.

Department of Enterprise Services

DES stewards the Washington State Capitol Campus, an internationally accredited arboretum. The 403-acre campus includes five parks, 18 monuments and works of art and the 260-acre Capitol Lake, which is being restored to an estuary. Each year, we welcome more than 400 public and private events and hundreds of thousands of visitors to our historic Capitol Campus. View a list of upcoming events.