Fire (Station) in the Hole

Archive for the ‘Sheeting & Shoring/Excavation’ Category

With the 2nd floor walls ready to go up some of the supporting piles had to come down. Crews started cutting away on Monday and the crane pulled them up Tuesday morning. This is video of the first pile hauled away at about 7:45am. (Sorry for the shaky & glary video quality I had to use my regular camera because my camcorder’s battery was dead. Murphy’s Law & all that.  Then there is the whole sun facing me thing. ) Anyway, play on the best you can.

I returned from vacation and the excavator was gone. So was about, say 24,000 cubic sq. feet of dirt from the south half of the Koons site.  Whatever it is, lets say the excavation phase is done. For joy… though I’m saving Beethoveen’s 9th for when the 21st Rd bus stop is moved to its new home… to the east of…21st Rd. I noticed concrete barricades were placed around the garage and FS3 site today so construction must be ready to start. Actually it has in small ways, but that’s another post for another day. For now here are the “final” excavation pictures for the Koons Garage. Enjoy and think back to when you first heard about the notion of a Koons Garage in 2005. Crazy.

North Towards Old Dominion:

South Toward Lee Hwy:

If you were wondering about those three  beams, it’s not an homage to Stonehenge; it’s just a pipe stem being set:

Looking South, Close up & Deep:

But fear not — like Pinocchio & Geppetto, escape is certain, though hopefully it doesn’t involve tickling marine life or my nose growing.

If you don’t subscribe to the County’s Official FS3 Construction Update Listserve everything is on schedule. Excavation, sheeting and shoring is near completion and work on the Koons garage foundation and footings will start soon. The County expects to receive a building permit for the fire station in August, with actual construction starting in late Fall. More in a few weeks.

Of course, if you still have a hankering for heavy machinery, and maybe a wayward bat mitzvah party, you can always check out my YouTube Channel. Hey, what is a hiatus without reruns anyway. BTW if you want to see the video that started it off, the Stowe House demo it’s located here.