Another angle.

I guess that crane wasn't designed to reach that far. LOL

I wonder if the tower crane could pick up those forms from its location. The boom can reach, but the weight is further away from the center.

Tonight I heard that this was the third crane accident on this site, if so then I believe three times is enough.

What scares me is the height that this building is going to be. The further the building rises out of the ground the more the public will be at DANGER. For instance if an green 8 foot masonry wall falls it will fall at least 8 feet from the base outward. So people within that 8 feet are in danger. How many people will be in danger when they get to the top floor at 850 feet, and a crane topples? How many buildings will be within 850 feet from the Devon Tower? How many people will be affected? Thank god there were no fatalities with any of these accidents.

As a community there is a lot of pride that Devon has chosen Oklahoma City to build this highrise. Devon must get involved if they care about the community that they are building in. Actually they have a responsibility to the communty. Are they waiting for a fatality before doing something? Devon please hire a competent company to build your building.

Here's a few more shots of the toppled crane and the site as best as I could get it through the mesh.

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/okcmomentum/da88cbbd.jpg

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/okcmomentum/5d902d29.jpg

Looks like they have some equipment down by the crane. They might be trying to move it this morning.

Wow, are the 3 stooges running this project or what? First they almost flattened the library workers, and now this?

Predicition: How long till someone is killed on this job site? Taking bets here.

Wow, are the 3 stooges running this project or what? First they almost flattened the library workers, and now this?

Predicition: How long till someone is killed on this job site? Taking bets here.

Well...it does seem a little scary to think about what could have happened - but just a wild guess here that on a project this massive, accidents happen.

they need to get that crane out of the way and get back to work

What's going on with the OKC Skyline Cam? Nothing but horizon!!!

drove by and saw a fire truck with lights on inside the site... Maybe just for precautionary measures while the move the crane

drove by and saw a fire truck with lights on inside the site... Maybe just for precautionary measures while the move the crane

Was walking by around that time and saw an ambulance with siren on enter on the south side near the temporary buildings (close proximity to the toppled crane). The workers near the entrance gate seemed to be waiving the ambulance somewhat frantically towards a certain area. I didn't get a great view, but there seemed to be some concern on their faces. Possibly as if this as something more than a minor incident.

Has anybody heard anything about this?

Devon must get involved if they care about the community that they are building in. Actually they have a responsibility to the communty. Are they waiting for a fatality before doing something? Devon please hire a competent company to build your building.

Wow. Overreact much??

I take job safety very serious, but I think people have been far too quick to forget that it was not so long ago that there were anticipated casualties when building a structure of this magnitude. Sometimes the tolls could be quite high. We live in an age where the technology and safety procedures on site are second to none! You cannot remove all danger from a construction site it is and always will be inherently risky. With the magnitude and scope of this project and the whole site being constantly under construction when humans operating machinery make an error in judgment it is called an accident. Sometimes there are casualties associated.

This certainly does not implicate Holder or Flintco as incompetent, and to suggest so is ridiculous and so far off base that it is a little bit embarrassing to read.

I hope and pray that all who are participating in this build out will be spared accidents and that we can continue to be as fortunate that when they do happen we can avoid injury and death.

This certainly does not implicate Holder or Flintco as incompetent, and to suggest so is ridiculous and so far off base that it is a little bit embarrassing to read.

:yeahthat:

I know for a fact that Flintco has earned many national safety awards. Maybe we should wait for the report before anyone decides that either company(s) were "incompetent." Please bear that in mind before making judgments.

It is naive to think that construction sites like this are not inherently dangerous. Companies like Flintco, Hines, etc. employ rigid safety standards, but sometimes accidents happen anyway. Crane safety has been a big issue everywhere in the US. There were deaths in Seattle two years ago, and at City Center site in Las Vegas there were several deaths. We should pray we don't have any here on this project.

If I remember correctly, when the Myarid convention center was being built there were two deaths during constructions. (not positive about that)

Did the cost go up? It used to be $750M for the project but wiki now says $1.75B! I know wiki isn't credible.. but still, is it true?

Did the cost go up? It used to be $750M for the project but wiki now says $1.75B! I know wiki isn't credible.. but still, is it true?

Highly doubt it. A 1 billion dollar increase? Talk about inflation.

One of the interesting aspects of this website is getting both professional, near-professional opinions and comments--along with casual observer and passerby comments as well. It is one of the many places where those who seek to discover, may find the collective interpretations of all who are interested...a panopticon of sorts on the subject of the monumental buidling. It is like the famous story of the blind men touching and describing an elephant to one another. :gossip:

Wow, are the 3 stooges running this project or what? First they almost flattened the library workers, and now this?

Predicition: How long till someone is killed on this job site? Taking bets here.

Devon should get you down there to supervise ASAP, then this nonsense won't be happening.


Was walking by around that time and saw an ambulance with siren on enter on the south side near the temporary buildings (close proximity to the toppled crane). The workers near the entrance gate seemed to be waiving the ambulance somewhat frantically towards a certain area. I didn't get a great view, but there seemed to be some concern on their faces. Possibly as if this as something more than a minor incident.

Has anybody heard anything about this?

I doubt it was related considering the machine toppled over the day before. It was probably related to something different or for precautionary measures.

Has construction completely stopped since the accident? How long before it starts up again?

Has construction completely stopped since the accident? How long before it starts up again?

I don't know, but it could have something to do with the excessive wind. I'd imagine that there are some limitations as to how safely the cranes can be operated in the current weather conditions.

I doubt it was related considering the machine toppled over the day before. It was probably related to something different or for precautionary measures.
I have heard that there was another minor accident that happened the day after the crane toppled.

They are certainly running into a series of bad luck.

That crane toppled over looks like an advertisement for an unsafe work site.

and thus will probably be used in countless safety training videos of what not to do.

and thus will probably be used in countless safety training videos of what not to do.

They are probably waiting to bring in the overly goofy guy who acts in all the 80's safety videos so they can show him by the toppled crane with his hand over his mouth making an "uh oh" face.

I didn't want to start a new thread for this question so hopefully someone in here can answer it for me.

Originally, the Devon Tower was planned to be 925' (correct me if I am wrong on any of this) but the decision to relocate the data center off-site reduced the final height of the building. What is the new "official" height of the Devon Tower? I have seen varying numbers from 850' - 900'.

Thanks in advance!

It looks as if the black crane has cables holding up the "toppled" crane. The Oklahoman cam is defining
OKC Skyline

I didn't want to start a new thread for this question so hopefully someone in here can answer it for me.

Originally, the Devon Tower was planned to be 925' (correct me if I am wrong on any of this) but the decision to relocate the data center off-site reduced the final height of the building. What is the new "official" height of the Devon Tower? I have seen varying numbers from 850' - 900'.

Thanks in advance!

850' ft. See Page 1 of this thread for all the facts.

Ya know, if the wind is gonna delay construction, then guess what? This thing isn't going up a floor a week. Expect this thing to be finished in 2015 if that's the case. It's always windy here....

Ya know, if the wind is gonna delay construction, then guess what? This thing isn't going up a floor a week. Expect this thing to be finished in 2015 if that's the case. It's always windy here....

Well, its not crazy windy like today everyday. They also don't have to lift steel beams everyday like you would a steel structure so the wind criteria is probably lower. The building will go up faster once those forms are placed, they only have to do that once and after that the forms are self-rising.

HELP! Why is the skyline cam still showing the horizon? Does anyone know.

Was just in the Olive Branch cafe. Construction workers there said they were getting ready to extract the toppled crane in about 45 mins to an hour (as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday April 1).

All you live-cam and/or folks with cameras be at the ready.

HELP! Why is the skyline cam still showing the horizon? Does anyone know.

Its been pointing at the sky ever since the crane tipped over. I'm not sure if has something to do with the wind or if Devon told them to turn the camera skyward.

Maybe Devon only wants to show crane success and crane not failure. LOL

Its been pointing at the sky ever since the crane tipped over. I'm not sure if has something to do with the wind or if Devon told them to turn the camera skyward.

Maybe Devon only wants to show crane success and crane not failure. LOL

So maybe we can rename Pete's camera FAILCAM!

Ya know, if the wind is gonna delay construction, then guess what? This thing isn't going up a floor a week. Expect this thing to be finished in 2015 if that's the case. It's always windy here....

if that was the case there wouldn't be any big buildings in Chicago

So maybe we can rename Pete's camera FAILCAM!

I'm not quite sure which cam you all are talking about. The cam at the beginning of this thread works just fine for me. Date stamp is current and I can see the fallen crane where it's been partially foisted up by the black crane.

Is there another cam that's been "moved" so as not to show the construction?

I'm not quite sure which cam you all are talking about. The cam at the beginning of this thread works just fine for me. Date stamp is current and I can see the fallen crane where it's been partially foisted up by the black crane.

Is there another cam that's been "moved" so as not to show the construction?

Yes, the Oklahoman has a live streaming cam setup for subscribers only and Devon employees.

NewsOK (http://www.newsok.com/okcskyline)

It's pointed at the horizon and has been since the crane fell over.

if that was the case there wouldn't be any big buildings in Chicago

Oklahoma City has a higher average wind speed than Chicago. Chicago isn't even close to the top of the list.



It's pointed at the horizon and has been since the crane fell over.

Glad I didn't put down the money to see it then.

if that was the case there wouldn't be any big buildings in Chicago

Chicago got the name "Windy City" because - and the details escape me, but something about how Chicago journalist were blabber mouths. You know, hot air. Thus Windy City was coined.

Has nothing to do with wind gusts in Chicago.

Chicago got the name "Windy City" because - and the details escape me, but something about how Chicago journalist were blabber mouths. You know, hot air. Thus Windy City was coined.

Has nothing to do with wind gusts in Chicago.

I think maybe you have never been to Chicago. Those lake winds are brutal.

Oh I don't doubt Chicago is windy as I have been there before, USG. I just assumed the poster was referencing the "Windy City" nickname - which has nothing to do with actual winds.

if that was the case there wouldn't be any big buildings in Chicago

Yeah, I was thinking that too. Now, of course, there's many more buildings in the Windy City so technically the wind probably wouldn't be as bad there cause the breezes would be sheared by other buildings. Being as that the Devon Tower is being built on the SW core of the city where there's nothing to stop that rich south wind is a whole other story.

It's pointed at the horizon and has been since the crane fell over.

I'll bet they just want to catch any nasty storms on their High Tech Streaming Cam!! :ohno:

Ya'll tell'n me it's windy in OKC? Ha..Ha..

The art of reading between lines is lost on message boards. If you followed Steve's posts when he was trying to get the webcam up and running, he was talking about how difficult it was to get all of the corporations concerned to agree to let it happen. He spoke of attorneys and corporate interests. He also said he couldn't explain all of the details.

Then, when he finally got it up and running he pleaded with everyone to take him at his word that the password protection had NOTHING to do with getting subscribers or generating revenue, but instead was due to something else, that he seemed to not be able to talk about. Now although I consider him a personal friend, I'll have to say that in addition to the good-natured dealings I've had with him I have also had plenty of reasonably tense discussions where he and I were on the opposite sides of things. In all of that time, however, I have NEVER known him to be dishonest. So personally, I take him at his word.

By the way, I seriously doubt they thought anybody would become a newspaper subscriber just see the webcam.

NOW, a new development emerges. There is a (fortunately non-injury) jobsite accident in view of his camera, and like magic it is turned away from the pit, presumably while the offending crane is removed and pending a return to normalcy.

Am I the only person who has connected the dots here? I'm just guessing, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that the delay and the camera realignment both have something to do with various corporate interests who might not be thrilled at the prospect of a functioning, dangerous-by-nature jobsite being broadcast in detail worldwide.

Have you guys ever DEALT with big corporations? If they had resistance to the camera from the outset I say it is a MIRACLE that it ever appeared in the first place. Instead of constantly ripping the camera Steve negotiated and treating him like a fibber for no good reason, I personally think we (the people in this thread who are obviously keenly interested in the Devon tower jobsite goings-on) owe him a hearty "thanks" for going to the effort he appears to have gone to help satisfy our curiousity, and provide yet another glimpse into the building of Devon Tower.

Or, we can just all be jerks about it. Whichever.

Thanks Urbanized
I'm sure the Oklahoman skyline cam will be back on the site soon. Once again, I must emphasize that there will be times when it will be aimed away from the site. This cam will not, in all likelihood, be aimed in when accidents are occurring.
There are many reasons for this, but even if I were calling all the shots here, I would make the same call, reason being I don't believe in show blood-splattering images and raw accident photos. I'm not a blood and gore reporter.
In this case, I think we can all agree we're happy that was not the case with this incident.
Construction site accidents happen. I can predict there will be a fire once the structure is halfway up and tv will make it appear as if it's the towering inferno when in fact it will just be wood rigging and work will resume within five days (we saw this with the OPUBCO tower and the Children's Hospital towers being built).
I've not heard from anyone in the know that this indicates an unsafe job site; in fact, I saw Holder/Flintco going to extraordinary means to maintain job safety when I was last there and I am a veteran of visiting job sites (Bricktown ballpark, Ford Center, canal, Renassaince, Skirvin and Colcord hotels, Civic Center Music Hall, downtown library, etc). I have at least three old hard hats in my trunk. So that's that, for what it's worth.

Anyway, I hope to be able to tell you it will be back online soon.
Thanks for your patience, Steve.

Thanks Steve for the info and for all you've done to get the skyline cam going. I certainly appreciate all your help! Keep up the good work for OKC!!!

Thanks sir!

I understand what Urbanized is saying and hopefully everyone else will also. I think it's fabulous that we have the views into the construction that we do and for that we should all be grateful. I stopped by the site after work and snapped a few shots. It was very weird only seeing a couple workers working on the tower base. I'm guessing they are probably waiting on the rest of those panels to proceed. They have put up a lot of scaffolding and other construction type stuff that I do not know what is for but there is lots of it.

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/okcmomentum/6b58803e.jpg

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/okcmomentum/13eb770b.jpg

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/okcmomentum/ec8f8665.jpg

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/okcmomentum/ad05e0bd.jpg

They are setting up the forms/decking for the first floor in those photos. That's what the scaffolding is for.

Steve, I for one,nor do I think anyone here, indicated that the live cam pointing to the "skyline" had anything to do with you. Surely those who are in charge knew that we have OKCtalks cam and that we knew 30 minutes after the event that no one was hurt or injured. No "blood or gore" to see. It's understandable that it was done after the accident and even for awhile after the accident. I am just not sure I understand the need now. As was stated earlier you can't anticipate when accidents will happen and so maybe that is why until after the crane is removed ..just in case. Thanks again for everything you have done for the live cam.

Another thing I'm sure has been covered, but back to the 'structure'... what were the factors that they decided upon to go w/ a 'concrete' vs. 'steel' framework, I'm still having trouble understanding the advantages?

I had the same questions and this site (http://www.cement.org/buildings/overview.asp)seemed to answer them. Seems like it is an issue of cost as well as the ability of concrete to withstand high winds/tornadoes.

...and lo and behold the live cam is up!!!

...and now it's not

You may find it moving around at times, but the reset hasn't happened yet. I'll keep you appraised...

...and now it's not

Live horizon, anyway.

There have been a lot of camera close-ups and scanning tonight, so you might catch some interesting activity if that sort of thing entertains you at 11 p.m. on a Thursday. Otherwise, I'd expect to see it reset in the next few days.

it actually showed a close-up shot of the "toppled" crane. then it was gone. oh, well they say patience is ... you know.

The scaffold like looking stuff and the yellow poles are all part of the shoring system. The shoring is what they will use to support the form work for the the floor slab above this one and is just staged so that when they can resume work on setting the core shear wall forms, they can then tie the vertical steel as they have done on the one side facing the cam, and then place exterior forms on the outside and then they will pour the walls and then we will see the form work of the next levels flooring go up, be reinforced and then poured , then we will see them pour the next level columns like they did previously and then the shear walls and then shoring and then...well you get the picture.

When we see them reinforcing the suspended floor slabs that is when you will notice a difference in the reinforcing not just being steel but that there will also be long flexible steel cables that will be colored in a plastic sleeve. They will be put under extreme pressure following the pour and after the concrete has set for a while. That is called post tensioning the slab.