The ‘super crane’ – now called the I Lift NY – was welcomed on site by the US state’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, who pointed out that it can lift 1,900t – or 12 Statues of Liberty.

The 100m-high crane will help build the new bridge and remove the old Tappan Zee Bridge. It sits on  a 117m-long barge and was guided to the project site by two tugboats as it has no navigational power of its own.

The crane was formerly called the ‘Left Coast Lifter’ when it worked on the new east span of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. It made the coast-to-coast journey via the Panama Canal at the start of this year.