Action Everywhere!

I was delighted to find a new place to watch the action today.  This photo was taken from the top of the new Nu Skin garage.

The west lot was organized chaos.

I watched two track hoes work together to carry a heavy I-beam.  I guess they got tired, because they tucked it in and left it for the night not far from where it is in this picture.  

This is a view of the west lot from University Avenue.  (The Nu Skin garage in the background is still a work in progress, but very accessible.)  Notice the pile of gravel on the left side of the picture.

The pile of gravel can be seen from this view, too.  I think there is a plan for this gravel.

This is a view of the north lot from the construction cam early this afternoon.  Notice the two pools of water in the upper north lot.  I learned from the articles from the press release last week that this water is coming from the water table.  Work has been going on here for months.  It's hard to imagine that Provo, situated very nicely in the middle of a desert, has a water table, but remember that northern Utah is at the bottom of what was once the ancient Lake Bonneville.

By the time I arrived at the site, one of the pools (on left) had been covered with gravel, presumably from the west lot stash.  

Since last week, a black liner has been placed along the base of the retaining wall in this lot, and a black pipe is on top of that.  

The machines worked all afternoon and eventually filled in the second upper pool with gravel.  This picture from the construction cam was captured at 6:30 pm.  If you look carefully, you can see shadows heading toward the upper left corner of this picture.  The rods casting the shadows remind me of the micropiles in the basement.  I'm guessing that there is plenty of underground work involved to handle the water table.  Don't ask me about the pool at the northeast tower, because I don't know.

You might be interested in knowing that a new contractor is on site.  Let's hope he knows his stuff!

I caught the elegant crane in action before he finished for the day.  

I tried to see what he was putting in the basement, but instead I captured a new view of the sunken living room.  You have to look closely, but you can see some of the metal rods are taller than others.  Actually, they are the same height, but some are in a pit.  I'm hoping no one is bothered by the water.

The men worked away.  I'm watching in hopes of catching the next stage of the slab construction. 

I did step back to take one more picture of the crane.

News articles from last week mentioned sensors on the exterior of the tabernacle.  These are used to measure any motion, because, well, the building is on stilts!

Once I knew about them, they were easy to see.  I scrolled back through my pictures and found them in place as early as November.  I'm feeling just a little sheepish that I hadn't seen these before.  I presume if the tabernacle starts to tilt, someone will know just where to push to steady it.

I also followed up on the work at the base of the west wall.  They seem to have done a very nice job covering the chicken wire.  I will venture a guess that this is a patch. 

News articles from last week said that three of these corner tower caps were in pretty good shape.  Original interior framework will remain in place.  I'm trying to find someone to bribe who might let me look inside.  I'm wondering if cookies will be sufficient.  Notice a red ladder hiding from me.

I watched what I thought were two pile drivers working along the east side in the south lot via the construction cam this morning.  Retaining walls along the new I-beams were put up pretty quickly.

By the time I arrived, though, just one machine was working, and he seemed to be drilling up a large pile of mud.  This area will eventually be underground parking, so I'm thinking getting mud out of the garage is a good thing.

Trucks barreled in and out.  

Slowly but surely they are removing any extraneous dirt from the west and south lots. 

I realized that the tabernacle is being very patient.  Maybe he's even enjoying the attention.

Crane Helps With the New Slab

I was excited to see a big, blue cement hose inside the tabernacle today!  I had arrived just after a press conference.  This article from the Daily Herald is worth your time to read.   It says these piers we can see are 90 feet deep.  This link to KSL includes a great photo of the interior of the tabernacle.   The Deseret News reported that the foundation work would be finished this summer.  Here is a fourth from the Tribune.  This is a fifth article from BYU's Daily Universe.

I'm sure the cement truck appreciated the advantages of not having a roof in the way.  And notice Mt. Timp in the background.  We are all pleased with the snow, which we'll drink later in the year.

The machine pumping the cement was well-braced.

This reminds me of a nosy neighbor I used to have.

A big bonus for me is that the crane was moving.  I was startled when I first realized it, because he was in stealth mode.  Either that, or there was so much other noise going on that I couldn't hear him.

The crane gently placed this bucket on the ground, and Junior Front-end Loader raced over...

and filled the bucket with gravel.

Lots of people were at the site today.  I don't think anyone can get tired of watching the crane.

The gravel, also going through the absent roof, was placed in the basement ahead of the wet concrete.

An onlooker assured me that the green pipe is for drainage.  The Herald article mentioned issues with water, and this pipe under the slab appears to be part of the solution.  

The basement was a beehive of activity.

You're thinking this looks like a shallow slab.  The Herald says it will be topped with a water-proof membrane and another slab.

I walked to the south end, but my camera kept looking back at the crane.  By the way, there is no elevator to take the crane operator to his box.  He has to climb up to go to work.

A pile driver was working hard and loud in the south end.  The news articles have confirmed that the south lot will have 250 underground parking spaces.

One of our friendly track hoes likely uncovered this brick wall along Second South.

The west side was bustling with activity.  Notice the white horizontal pipe along the north barrier wall.  It's new, but its purpose is unknown to me.

I've been puzzled about this west wall.  You can see the I-beams placed at intervals.  This looks like much more of a grout wall than what I saw dug in January when I watched the track hoes work here.  I didn't see the trencher go along the west side, but a video linked with the Herald article says the trencher built this wall.  That means it's 60 feet deep.

Besides the cool shadow from the tabernacle, there are two things to notice in this picture.  First is the work in the northeast corner, in the center front.  Why is that area still wet?  I keep watching that spot but it doesn't help my understanding.  But second, look at the man walking along the base of the west wall. 

I can't think of a reason why they would be installing chicken wire along this wall.

I get that the wall will keep out the water.  I guess the wire will keep out Nu Skin's chickens.

This picture from the construction cam was taken at 10 this morning.  I chose it because the shadows are just right to see the wall around the base of the tabernacle.  Does it look to you that the building is sitting in a big cereal bowl?  The presenter in the video said the water table is visible in the trench at the lower left.  It appears to me that the moat around the new temple will defend it against any rising water.

New Work in the Basement

I didn't intend to go to the site today, but it was a beautiful day.

Last night's construction cam showed something going on in the basement.  My engineer-husband assured me it was just a water barrier, a liner.  I had to go see for myself.

No surprise that he was right.

He says the next step is a slab on top of that.  We'll see....

While there, I checked out the work in the northeast corner.  This isn't being left alone, but I can't tell what's going on. 

The crane is magnificent.

The operator is a lucky man, is all I can say.  What a job this will be!

The south lot was full of action.

Dump trucks filed in, one after the other, all reporting for duty.

Some were taking orders from Mr. Track Hoe. 

Others rumbled off to the west side.

The construction cam has been showing a nice moat at the southwest corner.  I wondered if someone had come along and filled in the excavation work from Monday. 

In an example of perspective, the excavation well has not changed much. 

There was no hesitation on my part about walking to the west side.  Oh, what a beautiful morning!

That lot is still being cleared.  It's a noisy place, too.

This was a fun trip.  My new goal is to catch the crane in motion.  Maybe next time!