Building blocks
Massive concrete pour for new skyscraper set to create a mindboggling parade of cement trucks downtown
Even a girly girl like me has been wowed at the industrial performance of a concrete pour for the foundation of a serious skyscraper — zillions of concrete trucks lumbering through downtown streets, lining up to deliver their load into a vast construction site. I'll have my chance to see it again this weekend, the action beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday when Hines launches the massive concrete pour for a 48-story office tower at 609 Main St.
Imagine late-night partiers stumbling onto the site at Main and Texas around 2 a.m. Sunday as the downtown bar scene empties out.
It's a front row seat for all for viewing one of the construction industry's most entertaining steps in the building process. Hines reports that approximately 180 cement trucks will join the parade for the non-stop pour. By the time the last truck dumps its load some 17 hours later, 14,000 cubic yards of concrete will have been poured into the tremendous hole.
It's a happening that is particularly interesting at night when heavy-duty lighting makes the setting look like midday and has the surreal feel of a movie set. Imagine late-night partiers stumbling onto the site at Main and Texas around 2 a.m. Sunday as the downtown bar scene empties out. For downtown venturers, Hines advises that Texas Avenue and surrounding streets could be congested during the pour.
This will be Hines' second major office tower on Main Street, the first being the 46-story BG Group Place at 811 Main.