Crane at new Mukilteo pier ready for Boeing

Published 10:11 pm Thursday, February 14, 2008

MUKILTEO — A giant gantry crane custom-built to unload shipments of jet parts for the Boeing Co. was moved into place Thursday at the Port of Everett’s new pier.

With the crane’s installation, the Mount Baker Terminal is expected to be operational by April, said Carl Wollebek, the port’s chief operating officer.

When open, the pier will be used to unload parts for the 747, 767 and 777 jets, which will then travel on a nearby rail spur to Boeing’s Everett plant. It also will be used as a backup facility for 787 parts.

The project was part of the $3.2 billion package of incentives the state offered to Boeing if it kept assembly of the new 787 Dreamliner in Everett. Since then, Boeing’s decided to use specialized cargo jets to ferry its parts from other corners of the globe.

The cost more than $30 million is being covered by the state and users of the dock, including Boeing.

While the pier itself was completed last year, workers have been installing rails and completing electrical work since then.

Wisconsin-based Morris Material Handling Inc. constructed the 500,000-pound rail-mounted crane for the Port of Everett, and it was assembled in Tacoma before being shipped to Mukilteo. The 75-foot-tall structure has been painted a “smoke blue” color chosen by a group of Mukilteo residents, according to the port office.

John Mohr, the port’s executive director, said the electric crane’s design and its location on the pier makes the offloading facility unique along the West Coast.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.