Dallas-Fort Worth has reached new heights in terms of the use of a massive piece of construction equipment that is transforming the landscape.
There are more tower cranes in operation in North Texas — 87 — than there are in any other region in the country, according to an industry expert and compared semiannual count of cranes in several major markets in the United States.
"This is one of the strongest areas in the entire United States for construction," said Reno Russell, who oversees the sale and leasing of tower cranes all across the southwest for Bigge Crane and Rigging — the largest provider of cranes in the country. "There's a tremendous amount of growth and it really is a sign of good economic times."
The cranes, operated by a single person perched in a cab hundreds of feet above the ground, perform much of the heavy lifting on projects, particularly those that are located in condensed areas that don't allow for a large construction site footprint.
According to the global construction firm Rider Levett Bucknall, Seattle has the most tower cranes — 58 — in use of any single city in the United States. RLB periodically releases a crane index that tracks tower crane use across several major cities in the country, but DFW is not included in that count.
Of the 87 tower cranes in use in North Texas, Russell said 35 are in Dallas County, 24 in Collin County, 21 in Tarrant County and 7 in Denton County.
