COTA Austin - construction and infrastructure

[hairy_scotsman]

Hairy - any updates on activities at the track?

They're working hard. I went out this morning but couldn't really get any good photos due to dense fog at 7am. Looks like they're making a bit of progress on the main GS structure. Other than that, nothing is obviously different except the dirtwork, which always changes.

ETA: Here's a photo update just posted by Miro Rivera Architects:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 664&type=1

[hairy_scotsman]

I'd nuance that to say that releasing the money seems to be the problem. The participants seem to have enough wealth.

I agree with this.

Also, re: DeJoria, I wonder what kind of cut he got, and for what price. According to the Statesman, Hellmund has exercised a buy/sell clause @ $8M for McCombs' 20% of COTA. I wonder if he got that kind of deal.

[hairy_scotsman]

New Main GS photos from COTA's Facebook page:

[Richard]

Steel framing is more appropriate, quick and adaptable. Why did they use concrete for the pit building?

Shame to see in-situ concrete for the seating/bleachers and stairs. Better to use precast concrete units, both quicker and self finishing so no need for follow on trades.

[Giblet]

Steel is expensive, but so is concrete when every part of the building needs new forms and tables. Another advantage to concrete is all the electrical conduits and hvac can be integrated in the slabs while the rebar is being laid. Then you have the electricians and tin whackers working with the concrete guys, so they can get more done in less time. You just lay it all down and wire tie it to the rebar, the concrete does the rest. Then you just have to pull wires and extend the hvac instead of all the conduit and hangers later.

Prefab would have been cheaper and faster, but then the whole thing would like a Walmart. The prefabs I have seen are not generally for buildings that are anything more than glorified boxes.

[Pup]

I'm fairly sure they use concrete for occupancy separation - assembly space over hazardous storage. I've done buildings in the past with that arrangement and had to go concrete. There's some floor-floor ht advantages too I think.

Precast just isn't that big here. I thought they would use precast for the media center, but they went tilt- up instead. I had thought they said something early on about precast work, but either I was wrong or they decided against it.

[Giblet]

They should have hired the Chinese to build it

They built their track on reclaimed swampland and they put 40000+ concrete piles down to make it happen.

Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdpf-MQM9vY

[Pup]

And it's still sinking into the swamp.

[strad]

Here is KVUE-TV video of an animated meeting last night between Circuit of the Americas officials & Elroy residents. COTA officials struggled to provide answers to transportation concerns. Preliminary plan on the way near the end of April?

http://www.kvue.com/news/Elroy-resident ... 25415.html

This is just the usual not in my backyard types,,,This is NOTHING

[bhall]

This is just the usual not in my backyard types,,,This is NOTHING

Oh, they're positively going to love the sound of 24 V8s at 18,000 RPM with absolutely no regard for muffling whatsoever.



(That is, if it happens.)

[hairy_scotsman]

Here is KVUE-TV video of an animated meeting last night between Circuit of the Americas officials & Elroy residents. COTA officials struggled to provide answers to transportation concerns. Preliminary plan on the way near the end of April?

http://www.kvue.com/news/Elroy-resident ... 25415.html

This is just the usual not in my backyard types,,,This is NOTHING

I disagree.

We have more than our fair share of people around here who complain about every little thing that comes around the bend whether or not it really is going to affect them adversely at all. We dealt with those "professional protesters" at City Council Chambers ad nauseum earlier in this process.

These are not those people. These people are going to be directly impacted by the track but, for the most part, have been welcoming of it, or at least have been taking a wait and see approach. Now they're getting a bit upset when the best they're being told is that COTA will try to have a preliminary plan by the end of the month, that they might get passes to allow them into and out of their own homes, and that those passes might afford them a slightly reduced wait in long lines of traffic.

Last night both the COTA reps and the Elroy residents were disorganized and unprepared, and the result was chaos for a significant portion of the meeting. Things settled down when my buddy and the TCDES director introduced some order to the proceedings.

[hairy_scotsman]

Here's another news station's look at the meeting:

http://www.weareaustin.com/news/top-sto ... 1199.shtml

David Sweazy, a spokesperson for Circuit of the Americas, the operator of the race, says his group didn't come up with that idea, but residential passes are a possibility. He says a firm plan about a number of logistical matters is still not in place.

Watch the part where Sweazy is obviously feeling the pressure as he says:

"We hope to have a plan probably in the next month, 30 days maybe, that I can come back in front of you folks and say look, here's a plan, here's what we want to recommend to you," said Sweazy at the meeting.

[strad]

that they might get passes to allow them into and out of their own homes, and that those passes might afford them a slightly reduced wait in long lines of traffic.

All of that is common practice...Also do you think it is different at almost any track anywhere in the world?
It also will make them change their tune when they figure out that if they have a half way decent crib they can rent it out during race week and make a few thousand under the table dollars. You know, Like they do at the Golf tournaments..friends here are already planning for renting their places when the Open comes in 2013.

[thearmofbarlow]

Steel framing is more appropriate, quick and adaptable. Why did they use concrete for the pit building?

Shame to see in-situ concrete for the seating/bleachers and stairs. Better to use precast concrete units, both quicker and self finishing so no need for follow on trades.

Seems like construction is much the same as musicianship. One guy doing something, fifteen others standing with crossed arms going "I could do better..."

You do have to take the safety aspect in mind. Most likely the pit building and various others would have to be used as storm shelters at one time or another. That's a serious concern here. October/November is usually the second severe weather season of the year. Tornadoes are still a distinct possibility.

[Pup]

I've run those kinds of meetings before - and I feel for the client who tries to do one himself. You could be building them a magic tower that rains gold on their lawns and they'd still show up loaded for bear. They're very tricky meetings to handle properly, because you're essentially working with a mob. A glance through a few pages of this topic is enough evidence that people always expect worse than the worst. I'm surprised Kimley-Horn let them do that without them.

If it were me, I'd give them all ten passes and tell them to auction them on ebay.