The construction still moves along barely impeded by any force of nature. This has been one of the coldest winters in Jacksonville history since the late 1800’s but the workers continue to get their job done. It is hard to imagine how cold one might feel in and around cave-like bare concrete.
Winds have been high adding to the brutal cold. And, some of the men work throughout the night.
Luckily for Turner Construction and the City of Jacksonville, since construction was started in May 2009, the construction site has remained open approximately 95 percent (maybe 98 percent) of the time. February 12, 2010, was different. It was freezing cold and raining throughout the day. No one was visible on the job site. On February 11, 2010, Florida was the only state of the 49 in North America that did not have snow. Dallas, Texas, had 18 inches of snow and Atlanta experienced its third huge snow storm this season. Today, Hartsfield airport in Atlanta is closed due to this white powdery frozen precipitation.
February 11, 2010, will go down in the record books as the day the final height was reached on the western section of the new courthouse. This achievement was marked with little fanfare except for the beginning of the dismantling of the giant stationary crane and tower that gracefully assisted in this section’s erection and was visible for months in Jacksonville’s skyline.
In the next three days the pieces of this crane and tower will be moved 100 yards to the most eastern side of the construction site. Here, a lonely base piece of crane tower(erected about one month earlier) has been patiently anticipating the arrival of the remainder of the crane. Now the eastern side of the courthouse will rise up from its lowly slab and join the rest of the sections looking down on it.
When asked about the progress, freezing Hot Dog man Brian Baldwin said, “At the pace they have kept up, I think Turner will complete the construction of the exterior by June 2010. The weather has held up and based on my dog sales, the company has added tons of workers.” Brian looked like one of those smokers you see outside a building on a cold wet day. They are bundled up and hunched over to stay warm. Even so,like the lonely mail man, he braved the elements to serve the downtown workers their share of tube steaks.
If you’re ever near the corner of 311 West Monroe, stop by and buy a dog and greet Brian with a warm “Hi Brian.” Then have some fun and ask him what
types of soda he’s selling. You will enjoy his trademark reply. If you have any questions on life, sports, healthcare, politics, religion, construction or anything else you can imagine, he’s got the answer.
Where else can you receive information and life advice for as little as two dollars?
