Bus terminal walls are nearing completion. The photo below shows the remaining portion of wall that is still under construction.
More recycled canopies are being put to use. In the center of the next photo is a canopy that has been installed over the eventual passenger platform at the temporary Amtrak terminal. You can see some of the 20th Street HOV lane overhead. Since I took the photo, another canopy has been placed.
When the project is finished, you won’t see much of what makes the place run. While it’s out in the open, here’s a sample of utility work that has been a major part of the project.
Please see our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com for more photos.
I’m a downtown worker with views of the construction site from 1899 Wynkoop St. I have seen few mistakes made by the construction crew but the third photo reminded me of one.
Last week I was walking across the 18th street pedestrian bridge and two unhappy workers were using hand held jack-hammers to chip away at one of the round concrete pillar foundations similar to those with the corrugated steel protection in the third picture above.
They did not appear to be enjoying the job. I could not tell if they were trying to remove the pillar or chip away bad concrete for a re-pour. In any event, they had evenly chipped away around the entire circumference all the way to the re-bar and were still going at it when I left. I’ll have to checkup and see how it all finished up.
Tory, the concrete pillar foundations you mentioned are the catenary foundations. The catenary system will deliver electric power to the light rail trains. The tops of the foundations were finished with a flat surface instead of a crowned surface to the shed water. As part of Kiewit’s quality process, the error was found. It was determined that the top of the foundations would have to be redone into a crowned surface. You saw a crew working on that repair.
Can anyone explain the opening in the North (east) wall of the bus terminal? It doesn’t seem to line up with a street, nor does there seem to be any provision to close this opening later (ie re-bar to tie this section of wall to those already poured). Also, none of the renderings I’ve seen indicate a permanent opening or access point at this location.
That opening is one of two entry and exit points for buses. It will connect with 18th Street which will connect with Chestnut and Wewatta streets. Go to this site:
http://denverunionstation.org/images/DUSPA_images/renderings/dus_transit_district_900_674.jpg
In the upper right corner of the image and inside the red line is a street that appears to come to a dead end. That is where the street enters the bus terminal.
The other entry/exit point will be immediately behind Union Station. In the same image, you can see it coming in from the right, between Union Station and the train shed. It will also connect with the existing HOV lane.
Actually Rick, that is not the opening I am speaking of. There is another opening in the North (east) wall, east (or South) of the one you mention in your first paragraph. It lines up as though it would connect via a ramp directly into Chestnut Place. Somehow I think it may just be an opening to facilitate construction, to be closed later. But I would have thought there would be more apparent ways to connect it to the wall sections already poured.
(Sorry about the confusion on directions. Broadway runs due north and south, Colfax due east and west. Downtown streets, from the Broadway/Colfax intersection all the way to the Platte River, run at a 45 degree angle to the grid setup by this intersection. Check Google Maps. What everyone is calling the North wall is actually the Northeast wall, the opposite wall being the Southwest wall, for me shortened to East and West for simplicity while others clearly prefer the North and West designations.)
Dan, I think you are right about the opening. It appears to be a construction access point that will be filled in later.