What an exciting time to be in OKC, I have lived here all my life and don't recall as much excitement as now.
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-city-...ad_story_title
What an exciting time to be in OKC, I have lived here all my life and don't recall as much excitement as now.
http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-city-...ad_story_title
The NewsOK skyline cam will be providing special close-ups of the Devon headquarters construction site and the tower cranes twice today - from 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. One must register as a subscriber to view the live video streaming. Oklahoman subscribers wishing to obtain the account number needed to log in and view the OKC Skyline Cam can do so by going to www.newsok.com/settings, emailing webmaster@newsok.com, or by calling 1-877-98-PAPER (1-877-987-2737).
Steve, you hinted at more tower construction to come downtown. Do you know more than you are telling us? Anything imminent?
Actually Mark Grimes with FlintCo hinted at the POSSIBILITY of more cranes.
The cranes, Grimes said, show Oklahoma has a pulse. "Don't be surprised if we see more (cranes) in the future."
Read more: http://www.newsok.com/oklahoma-city-...#ixzz0uR0cdyDn
Why do I have the feeling that Steve knows something big is coming down the pike that he's withholding from us?
About the tower cranes for Devon, I am a bit concerned about the safety of those cranes going higher and higher. From a distance, they appear so skinny and just keep on growing. How is it possible for it to stay erected without toppling over? Are they using cable lines to anchor it on all 4 corners? It is like the red/white towers all over the world being held by cable lines. The same for the cranes?
The Devon tower crane currently stands at 285 feet, but will ultimately top 970 feet. Gavin Kalley, project vice president with Holder, said the crane extends another 120 feet (equivalent to 10 stories) into the ground, where it is anchored into bedrock. They can carry a maximum load of 22,000 pounds. They may seem fragile relative to what their height is and how much weight they are transporting but that is a long ways into the ground and fastened to bedrock.
So, that is one side tied to the tower, but what about the other side? Tied to the tower prevent it from falling down away from the tower, but if there is no ties for the other side, the wind/weight can push it onto the tower.
Famous last words...
Big Blues failure was one of the worst kinds of Crane failures but could have been avoided if the Supers on the project would have taken the protests of the crane operator seriously and if the crane operator would have dug his heels in and refused to operate under the winds that they were taking. The failure was not due to the winds by them selves or the load by itself all within acceptable specs, however the two combined with the direction of the wind and the roof structure that acted as a sail and swung in a direction that eccentrically loaded the crane in a direction that created loads that exceeded its capacity to hold without buckling. Plus this was one of the largest crawler cranes and a very different animal than a tower crane.
Tower Cranes are super stable because they are tied to the building. Remeber that the building is a hugely static object that can resist significant loads. So the rigid connections made to the building, work in both directions as a stabilizing member. (in tension and compression)
You simply can look up almost any highrise that is under construction to see how they work and there are animations that show this occuring and how they are tied back to the building.
The Devon cranes don't lift anything near that heavy. What do you think is the heaviest item they have to lift?
Not to heap on the criticism, but........ I'm pretty sure when they say "tied", they are referring to a rigid bracing structure of some kind, not a loosely tied rope. Think of a person standing firmly planted on the ground using an arm to brace themselves against a wall. I assume, the tie is providing an additional support position, and ensuring that any kind of swaying, vibration etc, is shared by both tower and crane in the same direction, at the same frequency, to avoid contact. You really dont have to have a very large structure provided that it is well placed (they have engineers for these questions), to prevent an already well designed tower (or in this conversation, crane) from toppling.
So basically I agree with SkyWestOKC,
I wouldn't worry about it, they know what they are doing.
I'll wager a guess that Grimes was referring to the Aloft Hotel project scheduled to break ground in spring 2011.
ourulz, I saw that video the other night on Gone In Seconds.
I will email Devon to let them know about the cranes, winds, and tornadoes. Possibly earthquakes...
Why do you folks think someone always has to be hinting at something. It's obvious Grimes just made a GENERIC statement, saying he wouldn't be surprised if we see more cranes in the future, meaning he knows construction spurs confidence thus more construction. I seriously doubt he was referring to any specific project.
Oh Thunder, please do, they need a laugh for the day I'm sure. You owe it to yourself to actually go see the site in person, get up on the parking garage.
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