Marion residents who traveled downtown Tuesday were in for a tall surprise.

Wray Roofing of Newton used a 100-foot construction crane to haul heavy squares of roofing off the Edward Jones Building at 314 E. Main St.

Crews used a rototiller-like machine with one vertical blade to cut the nearly 2-inch-thick roofing material into roughly 3-by-4-foot squares. The squares were then bundled into tarps and lowered by crane into an awaiting dump truck below.

The tarps prevented any pieces of roofing material from falling and potentially hurting pedestrians below.

Wray blocked off a portion of the west lane in front of the building and the sidewalk to complete construction.

Project spokesperson said work was halted if anyone needed access in or out of the blocked storefronts. Work with the crane was finished by the end of the workday Tuesday.

Majority of the work on the roof, including pumping large quantities of tar back onto the roof after melting it in a large kettle were expected to be completed yesterday. Crews will return today to finish the roof.