The Week of November 11, 2019 — The Interior Buildout and Playing in the Dirt Continues
As the Thanksgiving holiday rapidly approaches, the buildout of the individual floors is ongoing. Dirt around the construction site continues to be trenched, drilled, watered down, and backfilled. The three active areas are: (1) the Emergency Generator site located on the northeast corner of Taylor Street and Taylor Court. (2) The north side of the Adult Hospital tower where the Galleria and the Main Entrance Canopy will be constructed. (3) The south side below the Children’s Hospital tower, where storm drain pipes, gas pipes, and other utility service pipes are being laid in deep trenches. This phase must be completed before final grading begins.
Along the southeast corner of the building, rebar is being laid for concrete stairs that will connect the north grade to the south grade, which is a one-story climb. A little farther to the east, a MobilRam machine was brought in to remove the vertical beams and steel plates from around the north side of the domestic water tanks.
Work continues at three other areas: (1) The Schuman Pavilion elevator tower, (2) the Schuman Pavilion pedestrian bridge, and (3) the west tunnel and the west pedestrian bridge that connects to the existing Children’s Hospital.
The North Side — The Place Where the Caissons are Buried Deep in the Ground
A caisson is being offloaded (see arrow) from a transport truck.
The Following Photos Were Taken With an iPhone 11 pro
The battery for my trusty Canon 6D ran out of juice, and as luck would have it, I forgot spare batteries. The iPhone 11 pro in my pocket was my only hope. I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Unless otherwise noted, all photos in this section are the product (unfiltered) of my iPhone 11 pro.
Under bright lights, just east of the Schuman Pavilion pedestrian bridge, the north construction yard is humming with activity as a night-shift crew work to sink, over several nights, approximately 24 caissons some 58 to 68-feet in the ground. The drilling machine…The man in the black coat is the inspector for the job.Rebar caissons qued up to be lowered into the ground.Checking for loose rebar and tagging the posts where the straps will be attached.The crane operator reviewing the clearances for the next lift.It takes two cranes to lift and steady the caisson upright before it is lowered into the shaft.The smaller of the cranes (left) lowered its boom after the steady cord is released. Now the operator of the larger crane must maneuver the caisson over the shaft. The slide into the shaft begins. There is little room in the shaft for the caisson to wobble as it is lowered.With approximately 10-feet to go, the rebar is checked again. If there is too much play between the rebar junctions, they will be tied down with additional wire.Attaching the chains to steady the caisson in place once it has reached its designated depth.Level with grade. Checking the sides of the shaft.Checking the height of the caisson with grade. Once the caisson has reached grade level the chains are used to anchor the caisson to crossbars. Once this step is completed the cords will be removed from the rebar. This photo was taken with a Canon 6D.This shaft has been filled with concrete. The inset image was taken with a Canon 6D.
An Update on the West Side Tunnel
Beginning to lay out the rebar tor the top of the tunnel.The reinforcing rebar is in place and the top of the tunnel is ready to be poured with concrete.
The Emergency Generator Plant — Update
The electrical conduit that runs down Taylor Court has reached Taylor Street. The electricians are laying conduit in the trench, which will be extended to the electrical vault.The electrical conduit trench runs off of Taylor Court and will continue underground, where the future trench is marked and will terminate at the electrical vault.On the other side of the electrical vault, electricians are laying conduit.Using a small level, an electrician checks to see if the conduits are plumb.To the north of the electrical vault, pipefitters are installing the fittings for the UST (underground storage tanks) per the EPAs (environmental protection agencies) regulations.Some of the parts that the pipe fitters are installing in the manholes of the diesel fuel tanks.
In route to the South Side
Making my way back on Taylor Court, I was able to capture two men from the Tower Glass Company working from a hanging scaffold on the northeast side of the adult tower. They were checking and sealing window frames around the 12th floor.I was able to capture a tradesman applying floating the brown coat under the second floor Adult Tower popout. The west side bridge and tunnel site with welders working on the third-floor setting nelson nails.
The South Side — Trenches, Pipes, and Holes
Making my way around the southwest corner along the service road, I ran into a traffic jam of heavy equipment.A folk lift relocates a heavy sheet of steel, which will cover a trench. A very deep trench: See the men working at the bottom of the trench (yellow arrow), on which the sewer pipe will run. Dirt will be backfilled over the sewer pipe and compacted at a prescribed height below grade. Storm drain pipe will be set in the trench, after which the dirt will be backfilled and compacted.A coiled gas line is being laid in the trench at the lower right. A round concrete storm drain junction box inside the trench plate. Once the pipe is laid and the box is sealed, the trenches will be backfilled and compacted after which, the plates will be extracted.Laying rebar for footings that will support the GFRC that will cover the foundation wall on the southeast side.
After graduate school Dennis accepted a position at Loma Linda University. He worked there for 42 years in the areas of administration and financial management, also teaching accounting and management to dietetic students at the School of Public Health. Through the years Dennis has chronicled the growth of the campus, including the construction of the Drayson Center and the Centennial Complex and the razing of Gentry Gym. He is the author of "The Mound City Chronicles: A Pictorial History of Loma Linda University, A Health Sciences Institution 1905 - 2005." dEp 09.30.2016 🔨
Is the pour for the tunnel ceiling, and patient walkways floors going to be done at the same time. when will that occur?