Robert Barker/University Photography

Construction contractors for the Life Sciences Technology Building spent Dec. 18 and 19 removing a 245-food tower crane from the building site.

Construction contractors for the Life Sciences Technology Building spent Dec. 18 and 19 removing a 245-foot tower crane from the building site. A useful tool for reaching all parts of the structure, the massive crane had been a fixture at the site since January 2006.

A smaller replacement crane is scheduled to arrive on site Dec. 26, according to Superintendent Mike Wierzbicki of Skanska USA Building Inc. The new, 200-foot crane will be used for work phases that include installation of roof steel and construction of the building's penthouse area mechanical room.

The steel penthouse section should take between five and six weeks to complete, Wierzbicki said. Construction officials are working under an "aggressive" timeline to have the building completed by January 2008, he said.

The $162 million Life Sciences Technology Building is the flagship of an ambitious New Life Sciences Initiative that Cornell announced several years ago. The four-story building's concrete superstructure is visible on the western end of Alumni Field.