Fort Lauderdale Crane Prep for Downtown Tower Work

Towers going up around Las Olas

• RD Las Olas: a 45-story mixed-use tower by Related Group on South Federal Highway, with Balfour Beatty as general contractor and Baker Concrete on the structure. FAA permit filings were made for the work as the building rose.
• Andare Residences: Related's 46- to 47-story condo tower on East Las Olas Boulevard, which broke ground in May 2025 on a lot of under an acre, with completion expected around 2027.
• Society Las Olas Phase II: PMG and Greybrook's second tower, with 563 units including co-living, built by John Moriarty & Associates and slated for completion in early 2026.
• 100 Las Olas: Kolter's tower, reported at more than 40 floors and close to 500 feet, one of the tallest in the city.

Height, airspace and the crane permit

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International sits just south of downtown, and Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport lies to the north. Tall structures and the cranes that build them must be reviewed by the FAA for obstruction risk, and that is why project filings for downtown towers often include separate FAA notices for each crane. The approval sets a maximum height and may require lighting or marking.

For an operator, that number matters. Climbing a tower crane, adding jib sections or swapping to a longer boom on a mobile crane can push past an approved height. Know the limit for your crane before the plan changes, and raise it with the superintendent if a new pick would need more height.

Working beside the New River

The New River winds through downtown, crossed by drawbridges and lined with seawalls, docks and the Riverwalk. Sites near the water often have fill soils and high groundwater, and seawall loads limit how close a mobile crane can sit. Barge-mounted cranes handle some marine and seawall work, which brings its own stability and load chart questions.

Traffic is another constraint. Streets downtown are narrow, Brightline trains run on the Florida East Coast line through the middle of the city, and the drawbridges open for boat traffic. Mobile crane setups and deliveries for tower crane erection are scheduled to fit around all of it.

Rules on a Fort Lauderdale site

Fort Lauderdale does not license crane operators, and Florida law preempts local rules on construction hoisting equipment. Federal OSHA, through its Fort Lauderdale Area Office, enforces 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC: certified operators, employer evaluations, qualified signal persons and qualified riggers. On top of that, s. 489.1132 of the Florida Statutes requires tower crane sites to keep a hurricane plan on hand and to secure the crane at least 24 hours before expected hurricane impacts, so the jib can weathervane and loose rigging is cleared.

Study online, then book the exams

Our tower crane operator course fits operators headed for downtown cranes, and mobile crane operator suits the assist cranes used for erection and dismantling. Since most tower picks are blind, the signal person course is useful for anyone on the radio. Everything is self-paced, runs on any device and uses exam-style practice questions. Written exams can be taken online with a proctor or at a test center; the hands-on practical is taken at an approved practical site.