(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – You can’t miss the massive and high-reaching Ferris Wheel that’s being installed atop an old grain silo base in the growing RiverWorks food and entertainment offering in Downtown Buffalo, a job where International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17 Crane Operator Ken Willard has played a major role.

Willard (Pictured Above/WNYLaborToday.com Photos) spent a few minutes of his off time from helping install the 105-foot-high Ferris Wheel last week to talk about the unique job and the role that he and his Buffalo Building Trades Union has played in its installation.

The 55-year-old Willard - who’s been a Member of Local 17 for the past 31 years and is getting ready to retire at the end of 2021, has a bit of a history of helping put in place new amusement park rides, having done so at nearby Six Flags Darien Lake in Corfu, New York - so a Ferris Wheel was nothing too big for him to tackle.

The Italian-built 90-foot tall, red, white and blue Ferris Wheel is located just 100 feet from the Buffalo River and sits on the remains of an old grain silo, which Willard told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper “is around a million pounds of concrete” - which will allow it to serve as a solid base for the ride, complete with a number of gondola cars. 

To correctly put it in place, Willard commandeered a 125-ton German-made Liebberr Crane that boasts a 192-foot main boom with a 70-foot jib, which can lift more than 60,000 pounds of common weight up some 250 feet off the ground.

The Ferris Wheel at RiverWorks, which you can’t miss as several other grain silos have been wrapped in blue material to resemble a very familiar beer brand enjoyed by Western New Yorkers, reportedly cost $500,000 to erect.

“This was an ‘interesting’ job ‘because of the challenges we faced’ (placing and positioning the crane in position and running it throughout the project) ‘and in terms of access.’  ‘It was a tight fit,’” said Willard, who’s employed on the job by Benchley.

“And vision ‘has been a bit of a problem, which obstructed my views’ - so we’ve had to use hand signals (to help guide the crane at time).  It’s been (an) ‘enjoyable ‘(experience).  ‘It’s a nice location with all the downtown scenery, but really - with all the bridge work I’ve done (over the years), it’s really just another job,’” he modestly said.

IN addition to the Ferris Wheel, Willard also told WNYLaborToday.com that he was also the guy that ran a crane which previously placed a red, double-decker bus next to the Ferris Wheel.

Meanwhile, Local 17 Business Agent Paul Hopkins described Willard as a “pro who’s done a number of really tough jobs.”

“And this job ‘was difficult’ because Ken was worked with several Workers from outside the United States ‘who did not know’ (American) crane hand signals, so Ken (also had to rely on) his ‘expertise’ to ‘see’ it,” said Hopkins, who also underscored the need for highly-skilled and trained Crane Operators, such as Willard, to properly and safely get a job like the one at RiverWorks done.

“Training ‘is the key,’” he said.

Local 17 Business Manager Gary Swain said he was “proud” of the work “of all” of his Local’s Members, “who are ‘highly-skilled and trained to make things a reality.’”

“They ‘hire (Local 17 Members) to make sure a job like this happens,’ with a crane ‘set up in such a tight area.’  And ‘this is just example of (Local 17) putting Buffalo together,’” Swain told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper. 

“This job was’ pretty unique’ because of it being in Downtown Buffalo and part of the restoration going on there.  ‘People just don’t pay attention’ (of the Union-represented Workers who are actually doing the work to bring a multitude of projects across Western New York to completion).  They need to ask: ‘Who the hell put that together?’  ‘Our Members should be given credit with credit is due,’” Swain said.