Day 295: 19 August 2013

It was a very long, very productive day on the substation site today. The workday began sometime around 3:00 AM. I know this because when i awoke at 3:30 the crew was already hard at work.

Working under the stars, 3:30AM Monday.

 By 5:30 in the morning, the concrete had already started to flow at the south end of the site. By day's end, the massive infusion of concrete would bury all the rebar that's been laced through the site in the past couple of weeks. Large floodlights helped illuminate the worksite.

Once i was officially up for the day and embarked on my morning stroll with Doggie Demeanor, i got a better look at things at ground level. I think this was the biggest crew on the job at one time since the project began. Farwell Ave. was closed and looked like a parking lot filled with pick-up trucks, SUVs, and cars.

The concrete was delivered to the site via the long armature/tube seen here.

The view through the opening in the fence.

One cement mixer leaves and is quickly replaced with another. I was told that over the course of the day, more than forty trucks full of concrete were emptied into the site.

Making your way through the site is a precarious undertaking.

Smoothing the concrete after it's poured.

 By 10:45 AM, all that remained to be done was this section at the north end of the site.

And by 1:00 PM, a four-foot deep pad of concrete covered the entire site. 

Smoothing the surface.

It's been nice to see more women on the job lately (If only i were twenty years younger....).
I'm a little bit jealous of the bedazzlements on the hard hat worn by this woman,
who appears to be an inspector or supervisor judging by the pristine condition
of her hard hat and clothing. 

Meticulously smoothing the surface.

This makes me claustrophobic.

 By mid-afternoon, parts of the fresh concrete were being covered with a protective tarp.

Before 6:00PM, the final section was covered with tarp, and the remaining workers finally saw the end of a very long day.