A little closer view.......

[HelmutVII]

I am looking at the construction cam and I see darkness with white specs at 9:17am. Did the sun bypass Lafayette today?

It's "fixing to rain like a cow peeing on a flat rock"

[Cajunjeb]

It's "fixing to rain like a cow peeing on a flat rock"

Thanks! Trying to get the visual out of my head!

[Bandwagon King]

This work was started last fall and now we have the first few loads of rebar on site.

This is a very good sign for the average though. As you said, it tells us this project really has been in the pipe for months to have this much rebar ready to go. Not being familiar with heavy commercial construction, I was thinking there might be a pretty long wait between the initial groundwork & concrete work. Seeing this rebar & reading what you are writing, would it be safe to assume that pretty much as soon as the sub flooring support work & plumbing electrcity, etc. is finished, they'll be able to jump on using up that rebar & start forming & pouring right away? If this is the case then it is only a matter of getting mother nature to cooperate for this part of the project to easily be showcased by game one? Am I getting to excited? Please let us know if you think we should trim our expectation level on this project.

[Frenchie35]

Yea man---Looks so good but I would love to know what the buildings are---like what is rest rooms and what are concessions and why a gate except for maybe recruits and families to enter through----It would be so cool if Helmut could get a copy of the plans and take us through them----I know that we can't vote in Vermilion Saturday but just wondering what will be decided???

I will say that the finial product will look nothing like what you see in this poster. This is just something to appease the fan.....

[Frenchie35]

The kids would have a blast sliding down the south end zone hill now.......

[Frenchie35]

This is a very good sign for the average though. As you said, it tells us this project really has been in the pipe for months to have this much rebar ready to go. Not being familiar with heay comercial construction, I was thinking there might be a pretty long wait between the initial groundwork & concrete work. Seeing this rebar & reading what you are writing, would it be safe to assume that pretty much as soon as the sub flooring support work & plumbing electrcity, etc. is finished, they'll be able to jump on using up that rebar & start forming & pouring right away? If this is the case then it is only a matter of getting mother nature to cooperate for this part of the project to easily be showcased by game one? Am I getting to excited? Please let us know if you think we should trim our expectation level on this project.

For the last few days they were using those small bob cats, to do the leveling and right grading. They had to bring in the heavy bulldozer to do the job. They had, for a better word, some automatic leveling device on the blade to lift and lower the blade to the right level. I watched them do the work for about a half hour. You could tell it was doing the job and fast...The job master there said that the next step, after the grade was right, was to lay in the mud slab, which is if I understand right is a thin layer of cement soil. After that they would start on the bottom with rebar and forms to pour each row and work there way up.....no engineer here, but that's what I understand....He also stated that the work on the Athletic building would start sometime in the next couple of months. That's from his mouth. I am only passing it own......

[CajunJack55]

I will say that the finial product will look nothing like what you see in this poster. This is just something to appease the fan.....

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

[DaddyCajun]

----no but on April 15th there is going to be a huge ___ eclipse!!! And it is going to be CAjun Red-----btw this is not a joke!!!

Come on Boomer, are you telling us April 15th will be SWEET? Bring the News, Please Bring the News Now Boomer, Big Gator!

[Frenchie35]

Rain or no rain, they are working this morning....

[RedTails]

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

[BeauCajun]

Come on Boomer, are you telling us April 15th will be SWEET? Bring the News, Please Bring the News Now Boomer, Big Gator!

For the IRS.

[Boomer]

Come on Boomer, are you telling us April 15th will be SWEET? Bring the News, Please Bring the News Now Boomer, Big Gator!

---Now WAIT----I am talking about NOTHING to do with UL--I am talking about the Earth, moon, and Sun!!!---Sorry if I lead somebody off track---Anyway the thing will be red and will be spectacular!!! BTW Obama will get some nice checks in the mail!!!

[HelmutVII]

This is a very good sign for the average though. As you said, it tells us this project really has been in the pipe for months to have this much rebar ready to go. Not being familiar with heavy commercial construction, I was thinking there might be a pretty long wait between the initial groundwork & concrete work. Seeing this rebar & reading what you are writing, would it be safe to assume that pretty much as soon as the sub flooring support work & plumbing electrcity, etc. is finished, they'll be able to jump on using up that rebar & start forming & pouring right away? If this is the case then it is only a matter of getting mother nature to cooperate for this part of the project to easily be showcased by game one? Am I getting to excited? Please let us know if you think we should trim our expectation level on this project.

They would not break ground unless they knew they could proceed, uninterrupted to completion. It would be too much of a risk even with a mud bed. I hope the weather we are expecting Saturday into Sunday does not cause any serious problems. This is a very vulnerable time for the project right now. If they would have been able to place the mud bed I would feel more comfortable. Fortunately they won't have any standing water. Looks like a good weather all of next week. It will be all good if we can see a mud bed by next Friday. . These next two weeks will be the controlling time for the critical path. We get rain...... we could be in trouble.

From what I understand the seating package is finished and they have bids. Don't know if they have decided on a vendor though. That is the last thing for the actual stadium work so the stadium should be in good shape for August 30 opening day. (if the weather cooperates in the next two weeks)

I do think it will be tight on the rest room/ concession stand building though. They just finished those plans on the 14th of March. If they can break ground in May on that phase they should be OK. I would start to get concerned if we don't see work on that phase by the end of May. That is only three months from start to finish. I suspect they have no wiggle room on the critical path on that portion of the project.

The Ace in the hole is that they can always turn on the lights and run two shifts. Keep in mind, large concrete placements always start at about 2 or 3 in the morning. Doing one row at a time is no big deal and they can knock out a placement like that in a few hours.

Lets hope for good weather these next two weeks.

[BananaHammock]

Hey Helmut---I am just thinking about the number of times I have gone up and down that tunnel------It is gonna be safe with the new weight etc????

No, they designed it so it will cave in the first time the seating is occupied. Come on, have a little bit more sense than that.

[Boomer]

No, they designed it so it will cave in the first time the seating is occupied. Come on, have a little bit more sense than that.

----Take the banana out of your butt and think of some posts as having an obvious jest to them--------So indirectly I was hinting at Helmut to see what types of construction would be used to avoid any "cave ins"----BTW this post was one with an obvious jest to it!!!