by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Slowly but surely and day-by-day, Duval County’s new courthouse is rising out of the ground. The cranes are swinging and the cement trucks are rolling in and out and a small army of tradespeople are climbing all over the structure. As of this week, six months into the 36-month construction project, it’s about 10 percent of the way to the long-awaited ribbon cutting ceremony.
If you have been by the site lately, you probably noticed that progress is somewhat lopsided. The west side of the project is much taller than the east but that’s part of the plan, said the City’s Better Jacksonville Plan Project Manager Dave Schneider. The structural phase of the west end of the building will be complete all the way to the 7th floor, then the crane will be moved to the east side of the site. That’s because there’s not enough room on the site for three cranes, said Schneider.
With the foundation complete, precast components are arriving on the site and the upper floors are being readied for what Turner Construction General Superintendent Dave Freeman called “concrete pours.”
When the preparation work is complete, 474 cubic yards of concrete are brought to the site and pumped out of cement mixers onto the upper floors of the structure and it takes 15 pours to construct floors 1-3. Freeman said each pour requires about 47 cement trucks in all. He compared the logistics to a relay race with 8-10 trucks entered that are either on their way to the job site, discharging their cargo or on the way back to the cement plant for a refill. The new courthouse will require 50,000 cubic yards of concrete and about one third is already in place.
Freeman also said most of that work begins at about midnight to take advantage of reduced traffic congestion and cooler temperatures, both of which are advantageous when there’s that much concrete to pour.
Schneider said the project is a bit ahead of schedule and is now set to be complete May 12, 2012. The original timetable provided by Turner Construction called for the job to be finished in June, 2012.
He has also moved several family pictures out of his office at the Ed Ball Building and into his office in the City’s trailer at the construction site since he’s spending more time on site these days.
Schneider also commented that as a professional engineer, watching the new County Courthouse come out of the ground “is as much fun as it gets.”
These pilings are sunk 55 feet into the ground. There are 1,800 of them supporting the new County Courthouse.
The shape of the south side of the building is becoming visible. In the foreground are the forms used to create the concrete columns.
As concrete is poured on each floor it is supported from below.
Part of the shear wall has been installed on the north face of the structure. It provides strength and prevents the building from twisting.
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