The Week of July 16, 2018 — Construction on the Adult Hospital Tower Has Begun

[one_half][/one_half]A wide-angle screen capture showing the eleven (11) columns set today (07.16.18) on the west end of the the Adult Hospital Tower. from the LLU camera 6, which is mounted on the roof of the Faculty Medical Office building. From the vantage point of the camera it appears that the columns are the same height as the Medical Center towers. The short top horizontal brackets, on six (6) of the primary columns, are where the girders will be set for the ninth (9th) floor. Also set today were five (5) secondary columns to which girders will be bolted as well.

On the morning of July 16, 2918, the first column was picked from the steel staging yard on the northeast section of the structure, and slowly swung high over the sixth-floor steel decking. Just as carefully the column was lifted from the yard, the crane operator carefully lowered the heavy piece of steel to where the iron workers were waiting to set the column.

From the northeast corner, the first column for the Adult Hospital slowly traversed to the southwest podium column.

The column is slowly and carefully lowered to the sixth floor column base where it will be bolted.

The first column for the Adult Tower is set and bolted.

With the  second column to set (center), the rays of the morning sun seemingly pierces and spills over the steel of the first column set.

The above video was a perfectly time documentation of a realtime event: As I was filming the column being cabled over the podium a flatbed truck with a couple of heavy steel columns came rolling by

Night shot

Columns Rising and Reaching Parity 

It appears from various angles that the height of the Medical Center cloverleaf towers have now been exceeded by the columns that were set on Monday, July 16, 2018. I have viewed and compared the column height from parking structure P4, and from the south cloverleaf tower. From both elevations it appears that the columns are a few feet taller. Shooting across the sixth floor decking from the east side of the podium, the columns also appear taller than the towers.

The Loma Linda beige Medical Center at the left and the columns rising on the new Adult Hospital as viewed from parking structure P4.

A wider view from P4. The black arrow (No. 1) at the left indicates where I stood to take the following photo.

 A look at the columns from the east parapet on the south cloverleaf tower as noted by the black arrow (No. 1) in the previous photo.

Looking to the east: A view of the project from the roof of the Medical Center. See the yellow arrow (No. 2) on the previous photo. Note the roof of the east cloverleaf tower at the left.

Shooting toward the Medical Center from the sixth floor. Refer to the blue arrow (No. 3) in the previous photo.

As seen from parking structure P4: The definitive photo that indicates that the columns of the Adult Hospital (right) are now taller than the cloverleaf towers of the Medical Center.

The Night the Big Column Arrived

Into the Sunset: While waiting for the Big Column to arrive, I spent some time on parking structure P4. Fortunately, I was able to capture this helicopter as it took off from the helipad on top of the Children’s Hospital.

On or about 8:20 PM, the gates to the Anderson Street (east) entrance were opened in anticipation of a Highway patrol escort and a long low-bed transport truck (aka XL perimeter frame double gooseneck heavy haul truck) carrying a mammoth 88,000 pound, twenty-five foot wide steel column, At that time of evening, the traffic was light, and there were few pedestrians out for a stroll. We heard the Vehicles before we saw them. The wail of sirens coming from somewhere south of the freeway grew louder. Suddenly, the first vehicle with flashing lights made a slow right turn (without a hint of hesitation at the stop sign) where Anderson Street bends south toward Barton Road. Two more cars, with their lights flashing, turned right. With the lead car in the center of the street, the two vehicles followed, one in the southbound lane and the other in the north bound lane clearing any cars that were on the street. Following was the the massive low bed semi truck with its over-head cab lights flashing. Following the low bed was another pilot vehicle and two more Highway Patrol cars. These cars blocked the traffic at Prospect Avenue while the lead vehicles stopped all northbound traffic just south of Starr Street.

A closeup of the 34-wheeled low bed heavy haul truck and trailer. Note, the column has three cross beams that are approximately twenty-five feet long.

A side view of the column and the low bed trailer. The length of the column is approximately three-stories.

The wingspan of the column is approximately twenty-five feet. The green horizontal and vertical lines illustrates how far the “wings” protrude over the highway from the side of the low-bed. As the weight is evenly distributed, the wing on the opposite side extends the same distance.

Pulling into the yard: first the cab, then the flatbed, and the

Inside the yard

In the center of the photograph is the massive 88,000 pound column that came in by flat bed truck on the night of July 17.  With a little imagination, one might say that it looks like a three-winged totem pole. The column is positioned at the northwest corner of the elevator shaft.

Time To Compare –Then and Now

Four Dates to Remember

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January 25, 2018, was the day the first podium columns was set for. Also it was the long-awaited day when the steel structure went vertical. Approximately six-months later the columns would exceed the height of the cloverleaf towers of healing.

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April 27, 2018

At this juncture in the process, one could begin to see how the structure was coming together. Section four (upper right) had yet to have the massive structural beams that rested on the base isolators lowered into place. The fence in the rear of the photo runs parallel to Anderson Street.

July 16, 2018: The first column to be set for the adult tower. It is worth revisiting this photo again for it belongs in the timeline of “firsts.”

The Entrance and Lobby of the Current Medical Center

On my way up to the roof of the Medical Center, I stopped long enough to take a photo of the “[p]lease excuse the inconvenience” Vision 2020 banner. Now that the steel extend way beyond the safety and security wall patients and visitors can now connect the steel with the artist rendering on the banner.

On my return from the roof of the Medical Center, I took this photo on the inside of the lobby. The employees at the information desk have an excellent view of the cranes boom as it traverses the length of the structure delivering steel for the ironworker to hang.

July 18, 2018 This photo depicts the steel structure at a height of six-floors, which is the podium height from which the towers will rise. On the left, the steel columns along with the girders, beams, and infield beams are being set for the adult tower. In the center of the photo there are the outline of the the one-story east and west atriums. The atriums begin on the fifth floor and end at the roof of the podium. The fence that parallels Anderson Street, which was visible in the April 27, photo is now obstructed by the steel and metal decking.

Taking Vertical Readings from the Medical Center’s Roof

Up on the ninth floor bridge between the south cloverleaf tower and the elevator tower James had set his survey equipment where he would periodically take vertical (plumb) readings on the south facing columns. I took this photo after coming down from the roof. Jack (the assistant job foreman-left) and James (an ironworker) stayed while James took a few more readings.

Once we arrived at the bridge, James took out the Theodolite from its carrying box and placed it on the tripod. The equipment is stored on the bridge to avoid having to lug it up each time a reading is taken.

James is focusing the total station survey equipment.

James is looking at the target area where the yellow line-of-sight line ends at the yellow arrow.

Inside the yellow ellipse are the target ruler slider flags on which James check the verticality of each column.