COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.

What do you think of the prospect of a USGP 2012 at Austin Texas

Good thinking. Place has good infra structure and nice climate in winter.
126
47%
Not good as it has no motor sport tradition in the US.
23
9%
I will wait to see how it will shape up.
97
36%
I don't care.
23
9%
 
Total votes: 269

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

By the way, just to drive home the point, here are photos of the grandstand and pit building in India, 10 months prior to the other photos I posted...

Image
Image

As you can see, foundations are already in place, slabs are being poured and work is going vertical.

Austin was at a similar point mid-November...

Image

That's ten months of work to get India to a similar stage of completion that Austin reached in five - including a month-long work stoppage, so really four. And actually, Austin's pits are farther ahead, since they've got plumbing, elect, and hvac already going in a third of the building. You don't have to do a lot of extrapolating to see that Austin is going at a much quicker clip.

So, at this point, relative to India, Austin I think is a little bit ahead on the pits, a little bit behind on the track, and while it doesn't look like it, probably at the same point or even ahead on the grandstands. And for the team buildings, considering how frickin' awesome we are at light construction in this country, they're probably ahead having not even started. :lol:
Last edited by Pup on 27 Mar 2012, 19:27, edited 2 times in total.

Giblet
Giblet
5
Joined: 19 Mar 2007, 01:47
Location: Canada

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Once you got your forms and tables, you can start stacking the floors 1 per week. Concrete companies don't really make money unless they are always pouring.
Before I do anything I ask myself “Would an idiot do that?” And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing. - Dwight Schrute

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Also, I think some people were complaining about the Austin site being desolate?

This, my friends, is desolate...
Image

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

WhiteBlue wrote:Thank you HS for this detailed comparison with many data and points. I have never seen such an in depth comparison of different tracks under construction.
In depth, and inaccurate. HS is like the Fox news of the Austin GP.

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Pup wrote:
WhiteBlue wrote:Thank you HS for this detailed comparison with many data and points. I have never seen such an in depth comparison of different tracks under construction.
In depth, and inaccurate. HS is like the Fox news of the Austin GP.
Same old Pup. Don't like the message? Attack the messenger. I'm not getting down in the pig slop with you, but feel free to quote any inaccuracies you can find in that post.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

hairy_scotsman wrote:...feel free to quote any inaccuracies you can find in that post.
I did, in two lengthy posts. In depth, as they say. Ignore my rebuttal if you want to because it's not for you. It's for those who might otherwise be fooled by your FUD.

xpensive
xpensive
214
Joined: 22 Nov 2008, 18:06
Location: Somewhere in Scandinavia

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

hairy_scotsman wrote:Mass gathering Permit, Emergency Planning, road worries surround COTA:

http://www.kvue.com/news/Travis-County- ... 13125.html
"Mass gathering permit? We don't need no stinking mass gathering permits!" #-o
"I spent most of my money on wine and women...I wasted the rest"

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Pup wrote: That's ten months of work to get India to a similar stage of completion that Austin reached in five - including a month-long work stoppage, so really four. And actually, Austin's pits are farther ahead, since they've got plumbing, elect, and hvac already going in a third of the building. You don't have to do a lot of extrapolating to see that Austin is going at a much quicker clip.

So, at this point, relative to India, Austin I think is a little bit ahead on the pits, a little bit behind on the track, and while it doesn't look like it, probably at the same point or even ahead on the grandstands. And for the team buildings, considering how frickin' awesome we are at light construction in this country, they're probably ahead having not even started. :lol:
Austin has been working on that GS foundation and other below-grade work for much longer than 5 months, not that it really matters much. What matters is where they are now. It's hard to comprehend that anyone could presume Austin to be ahead when India was ahead in everything except maybe the pit building at a similar time out from FP1...in a much more complex and comprehensive project.

Re: the HVAC & Plumbing...not sure where you got that info, but regardless, unless we know where India's HVAC & Plumbing was at the same point, then it's meaningless.

Re: the fast clip...they certainly should be moving at a fast clip considering how much simpler the project is. They've poured all their structural efforts into 4 buildings, whereas India was working on 30+, and was still ahead...and it wasn't close.

Re: Team Buildings...again, I hear we haven't started them because there won't be any.

Re: the pit building "kink" in India, it's in the plan.
Also, a lot of those buildings you're pointing to on the India aerial are really these temporary shelters for the crews. Yes, they live on the jobsite...
No they aren't. I only mentioned buildings specifically identifiable by the circuit plan.
...tells me that you really don't need to be commenting on construction. The grandstand in India at that point had months upon months of work remaining. I guarantee you that the Austin grandstand has less work remaining now than that one had when those photos were taken.
I said the structure was near completion, and it was. Was there plenty of detail work left? Of course. Austin's much smaller (1/3 the size of Buddh's, at best) structure is barely underway. It certainly should be. This shouldn't even be in doubt at all. It should be a given. Will it be completed? Yes, probably, as I said before. The notion, however, that Austin is ahead is patently ludicrous.
I did, in two lengthy posts. In depth, as they say. Ignore my rebuttal if you want to because it's not for you. It's for those who might otherwise be fooled by your FUD.
Actually, no. You never quoted anything I said. You never clearly refuted anything at all. You gave your opinion, which is fine, of course. Calling it a factual, quote-based rebuttal, however, is asinine.

My post was simply a comparison of the relative progress of India and Austin at the same point. You can go on and on about "why" this and that condition existed there or exists now in Austin. I'm sure you will. None of that matters. They were well ahead on a much more complex project while COTA is cutting it close on a project that's been gutted by comparison.
Last edited by hairy_scotsman on 27 Mar 2012, 20:07, edited 2 times in total.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

Giblet
Giblet
5
Joined: 19 Mar 2007, 01:47
Location: Canada

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Are they working night shifts?
Before I do anything I ask myself “Would an idiot do that?” And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing. - Dwight Schrute

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Giblet wrote:Are they working night shifts?
Sometimes.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

Giblet
Giblet
5
Joined: 19 Mar 2007, 01:47
Location: Canada

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

I think people underestimate the North American contractors will to get the job done on time to and get paid in full, and maybe a bonus for early completion.
Before I do anything I ask myself “Would an idiot do that?” And if the answer is yes, I do not do that thing. - Dwight Schrute

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Pup wrote:One more thing - HS, do you have inside info that they aren't doing the teams buildings? I see stub outs and fresh grading right where they're supposed to go, so...
I've heard it from several folks who would know. Here are some shots taken in this month that show the area behind the paddock where the Team Buildings would go.

March 22:

Image

March 1:

Image

March 1:

Image

The only things that I can see resembling stubs in any of those shots look more like (8) irrigation fixtures with manhole covers on top. I'm no construction pro though, & don't claim to be. I can see no foundation-prep/grading in any of the photos in question.
Last edited by hairy_scotsman on 27 Mar 2012, 20:27, edited 1 time in total.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Giblet wrote:I think people underestimate the North American contractors will to get the job done on time to and get paid in full, and maybe a bonus for early completion.
I don't question that at all. I think we have the best construction abilities in the world. They only do what they're paid to do, when they're told to work, though. That's why we're behind. It's not on Austin Commercial, by any means.
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...

Pup
Pup
50
Joined: 08 May 2008, 17:45

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

hairy_scotsman wrote:Austin has been working on that GS foundation and other below-grade work for much longer than 5 months, not that it really matters much.
So had the India construction, and we're talking about the pit buildings. They were at similar stages at 10 and 5 months out respectively. Austin is ahead now. Ergo, Austin pit construction has progressed at more than twice the pace.
hairy_scotsman wrote:What matters is where they are now. It's hard to comprehend that anyone could presume Austin to be ahead when India was ahead in everything except maybe the pit building at a similar time out from FP1...in a much more complex and comprehensive project.
It may well be hard for you to comprehend, but it is true nonetheless. The relative simplicity of the Austin facilities is in fact one of the reasons why, which I'd thought was too obvious to have to point out.
hairy_scotsman wrote:Re: the HVAC & Plumbing...not sure where you got that info, but regardless, unless we know where India's HVAC & Plumbing was at the same point, then it's meaningless.
We know because we've seen photos of ductwork, conduit, piping, and rooftop mechanical equipment in the Austin project. And since that work can only begin in sections that are topped out, we know that none of that work had begun in India.
hairy_scotsman wrote:They've poured all their structural efforts into 4 buildings, whereas India was working on 30+, and was still ahead...and it wasn't close.
Series vs parallel, as I discussed. And they weren't ahead as a whole.
hairy_scotsman wrote:
Also, a lot of those buildings you're pointing to on the India aerial are really these temporary shelters for the crews. Yes, they live on the jobsite...
No they aren't. I only mentioned buildings specifically identifiable by the circuit plan.
Those shacks with the laundry hanging on them are exactly where the medical center goes.
hairy_scotsman wrote:
...tells me that you really don't need to be commenting on construction. The grandstand in India at that point had months upon months of work remaining. I guarantee you that the Austin grandstand has less work remaining now than that one had when those photos were taken.
I said the structure was near completion, and it was. Was there plenty of detail work left? Of course. Austin's much smaller (1/3 the size of Buddh's, at best) structure is barely underway. It certainly should be. This shouldn't even be in doubt at all. It should be a given. Will it be completed? Yes, probably, as I said before. The notion, however, that Austin is ahead is patently ludicrous.
Sorry, but you just don't get construction. I do this for a living, and I can tell you with certainty that the Austin grandstands will be farther along than India's in a few of weeks. Again, the smaller scope is one of the reasons.

But I think you know all of that, it just doesn't fit the story you want to tell.

hairy_scotsman
hairy_scotsman
15
Joined: 13 Nov 2010, 22:47

Re: 2012 US GP to be held in Austin

Post

Robin Miller was on SPEED's Wind Tunnel last night...says COTA is looking to sign IndyCar.

http://www.speedtv.com/programs/wind-tu ... 98532001/1
Follow me on twitter @Austin_F1 ...