Cranes At Work

The black crane was majestic today, working hard in the morning light.

He is a major facilitator for work in the west lot.  If you look closely, you can see him helping the workmen set up a column of rebar.  Forms are being assembled for the mechanical tunnel.  Turbines for heating and cooling will be in this area, far enough away that the temple will remain quiet inside.  If you are a construction cam addict, you have seen lights on in the west lot at night.  However, this lighting is for the Nu Skin crews who are working late.

Because the west lot will be underground parking, the last layer of rebar has been treated with a green coat of epoxy.  Salt water is hard on rebar, and this coat will protect it from slush which sneaks in under cars and then melts.

The white crane brought beams in and out this morning.  The white beams fit into pockets in the walls, and sometimes they need a little tweaking.

The pockets are easily visible in this picture.  This will ultimately be the main level of the temple.

I am as curious as you are about work in the interior.  From the gap under the northeast tower, I spied this welder at the west edge of the baptistry.  I learned that at least part of the area where he is working will be an interstitial space in the temple.  You can see this level on page 10 of last month's Herald article.  This area will be between lower level 1 and the ground level, and will be where ducting brings in hot or cool air to be directed throughout the temple.

This interstitial area has been described as a catwalk, so it might not fill this entire space.  You can see the baptistery is on the east side, to the right in this picture taken through the southeast tower gap.

This picture is also taken through the southeast tower gap.  The area in the back is for the elevator.

You can see two levels of decking here.  Below the lowest visible level is lower level 2 of the basement.  Above the highest level seen here will be the catwalk.

The southwest tower cap is almost finished.  It sits in the upper north lot with the other 3 tower caps.  The plywood buildings you see there are temporary.  Behind the 3 tower caps is the intersection of Center Street and University Avenue.  The concrete circle in the lower left will be a roundabout at the intersection of First South and  First West, where both streets will end.  The blue lift in the lower right is working at the underground entrance to the Nu Skin garage.  This entrance will also be one of two access points to underground temple parking.  You might also want to notice Rock Canyon in the upper left.  This is a gorgeous time of year in Provo.

The completed temple will have five sealing rooms.  Three will be at the south, west and north gables on the top floor.  The other two sealing rooms, which will be a little smaller, will be west of the south and north sealing rooms.  These rooms will have double vaulted ceilings and will receive exterior light through art glass windows.  Notice the men in the lift at the base of the northeast tower, on the right.

They are drilling a hole through the wall of the tower for a horizontal support beam which will attach to a vertical beam extending from the top of the tower to the base.  Stairs will connect to these beams.  This pattern will be followed in each tower.

Sometimes the work is a little stressful for the tabernacle.

This will be the entryway from the underground garage.  I know our chapels have cinder block walls, but I've been told this vestibule will be dolled up real nice.

This area of the annex is being prepared for a concrete pour.  Once this slab is completed, forms will be set up for the east annex wall and the foundation for this northeast tower will be built.  Look closely and you will see the rebar in place for the tower foundation.

I saw these spiders in the sea of rebar when the interior slab was poured.  Here and here are two links.  At that time, I didn't know what I was seeing, but now I do.  These clumps of metal secure the micropiles in the slab. 

All of this work would take a lot longer without the cranes.

But then, who's in a hurry?