Lots of Work, Lots of Noise

Fun day for me at the site today.  Everyone else was working hard, with lots of noise.

Baby Track Hoe was surprisingly noisy.  Kids these days.  They grow up so fast.

A lot of work seemed to be focused on the west side of the south lot.  The post office parking lot is in the background.  The underground entrance to the parking garage is between the Okland barrier to their Nu Skin project and the Okland semi.

The Okland guard let me dash between trucks to take this picture of the new entrance.  I have been told that this entrance will be used for both Nu Skin employees and temple visitors.

The pile driver was not only noisy, but he worked so hard that he shook the ground of the parking lot until my teeth rattled.  My excitement for the day.

You can see the attention this area is getting.  An orange fork lift is bringing another beam.  Baby Track Hoe is cleaning out the dirt between the pilings.  Welders are working at the right corner.  Wells have been driven, one on the right side of the photo, another on the left.  Notice the onlookers in the post office lot.  At one point the post office wanted to prevent the sightseers, but that only resulted in amazing daredevil feats.  There were times when I held my breath when I watched people standing on top of these fences!  (I did not offer my camera for fear it would go down with the climber.)  But now, there are plenty of viewing spots, and the work is exciting to watch.

Mr. Well Digger was part of the noise today, too.  He's progressing down the lot and will soon meet the south end where he's already drilled.  Notice Mr. Track Hoe in the background, still lowering the level of the south lot.

Please let me tell you about the noise. I was standing in this spot taking the first picture on the blog.  I did not hear a dump truck waiting behind me.  Instead, I felt its vibrations.  I jumped out of the way, but the driver, not impatient at all, smiled and waved as he drove into the lot.  That's how noisy it was! 

I was hoping to get an idea of when the next foundation slab would be poured.  There is enough rebar in the basement to enable the men to walk on water, but it doesn't look ready yet. 

Work continues on the boats.  This one is surrounded by lotus plants.

Mr. Crane is mesmerizing.  His arm moves back and forth, but obviously, not up and down.  Instead, the pulley raises and lowers the cargo, and the blue track runner races along the arm.  It's an intense "walking, chewing gum and patting your head at the same time" effort.  Fearing a sunburn, I only watched for 30 minutes.

I thought the north lot was being prepared for rebar, but that doesn't seem to be what's happening.  Men work and measure, but I can't tell what's going on.

Workman covered the west porch with membrane today.  

And the ladder moved as far away from the noise as possible.

A Sea of Rebar in the Basement

I've been watching the work at the site via the construction cam the last few days. 

When the rain stopped this afternoon, I went downtown to gauge the progress in the basement.

I saw two wooden boats in a sea of rebar.

One of the boats has a drain in the east side.

The north lot received a layer of membrane on Thursday and was topped with a concrete slab on Friday.  It's being prepared to receive a layer of rebar, too.

The northeast corner now has its own membrane layer.  Maybe it will keep out Lake Bonneville from below, but today, the heavens opened and there was no stopping that.

The northwest corner gets curiouser and curiouser.

It's received more than its fair share of attention lately.

I'm a little concerned that someone is hiding something.

This is the new south entrance to the basement.  I am certain the ladders are jealous.

This view from the south end of the construction site shows just how hard the track hoes have been working.  The orange layer at the top of the piers was once ground level.

Work goes on all around this spot of brick at the end of the south lot, but so far it has remained untouched.

I was surprised to get to the west side today and realize that four feet of the post office lot is gone.  Last week this fence went up, perpendicular to the tabernacle, leaving a big gap between it and another long-standing fence which topped a cement wall.  The cement wall is now gone.

Slowly but surely the tabernacle site gets a little bigger.

Concrete Pump at the Site Today

The construction cam is working again.  When I saw the concrete pump at the site this morning, I grabbed my shoes and went to see.

The workmen in the basement were still preparing when I arrived.  You can see the empty tube dangling in the center of the picture.  To me, it doesn't quite look like they are going to pour another slab today.

Perhaps they were just pouring enough to hold the spiders in place. 

The crane delivered rebar to the basement while the concrete pump worked.

I didn't realize the crane operator was in place until, all of a sudden, I saw rebar flying through the air.  I'm thinking maybe he should put up a flag when he's in residence.  Like the queen.

He was taking the rebar from the north lot, which is still being prepared for the membrane layer.

It was a beautiful morning, so I walked around the block to the Post Office.  The electrical pole has been removed.  

Provo City workers were nearby, so I am sure it won't be left this way.  The last photo in this post shows how awkward the former pole was.

During my walk to the west side, I saw a new drainage system.  Water is now being pumped through these white pipes.

The water is released into this sediment tank.

The sediment settles and clean water goes into our storm drains.

The sediment tank used to be closer to the tabernacle, but water is still being pumped out here, too.

My view of the west lot from University showed a lot of water.  It's not from the summer weather we've been enjoying. 

The standing water reflects the yellow from the Nu Skin garage under construction.

Piles have been driven at the point the Nu Skin walkway reaches the west lot.  Wells are on both ends of these piles.

I have good news for the ladders.  Blog readers have speculated that these boxes are for column forms in the basement.  

This photo, courtesy of Lane Montgomery, shows similar forms being used in the construction of the Brigham City Temple.  So, the ladders can breathe easy, but the rebar is in big trouble.

Grand Canyon

Trucks were lined up across the lot to receive dirt from Mr. Track Hoe today.

It's starting to look less like a temple site and more like the Grand Canyon.

Another track hoe worked again today in the west lot in this same spot.

A grout machine worked in the south lot reinforcing the east wall.  I've seen his work before in March when he worked along the north barrier.

He's been busy.

I'm interested in what he'll do when he gets to the old brick wall along the south end of the lot.

Spider work progresses in the basement.

Thankfully, the construction cam is working again, so I hope to know when they'll be ready for the next slab.

The north lot is getting the same treatment as the basement did before the last pour.  A membrane will be the next step, and the materials are there, waiting. 

I am totally mystified by the ongoing box-building in the upper north lot.  

Sometimes if I stand and watch for awhile, I can figure things out, but this has been going on for weeks, and I haven't a clue.

There are more of these stored in the shade.

And all the ladders are in hiding.