A 160-foot high crane with a 262-foot radius has added a new dimension to the Kalispell Regional Medical Center skyline as building progresses on a new surgical tower.

Crane work is waiting for the delivery of steel, according to Marcello Pierrottet, design and construction director.

“Due to phasing, not all of the steel is here,” he said. “One of the first things [planned] would be to install the cross steel beams connecting the newly installed columns.”

Pierrottet said the crew will begin from the north and work to the south. He expects that work to begin next week.

“In a couple of months, you’ll see a big difference here on campus,” he said.

According to Pierrottet, the crane assembly includes five counterweights on the back weighing 15,000 pounds each. The crane can lift 21,000 pounds 50 feet from the tower and 8,500 pounds at full extension.

For safety, ALERT pilots have changed the ambulance helicopter’s approach to east and southeast, out of the crane area. Pierrottet said other helicopter services have been notified.

“We’ve got safety lights on it so it’s visible at night,” he said.

Also for safety, Pierrottet said the crane is left “free flowing” at night. The idea is to let it swing with the wind to eliminate resistance.

“It acts like a weather vane,” he said.

The crane will remain in place through January, February or March of 2012, depending on the progress of construction. Along with lifting steel for the skeleton of the tower, the crane will hoist heavy materials such as drywall during interior construction.

Swank Construction is the general contractor for phase one of Northwest Healthcare’s $42 million tower. Construction is set to finish in October 2012.

Phase one will involve building eight operating rooms and shells for four more, 18 same-day surgery beds, 18 post-anesthesia care beds, two endoscopy and two fluoroscopy procedure rooms and a shell for 30 future patient beds.

The initial structure will rise three stories with enough steel support to add fourth and fifth floors for future hospital beds.