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Brunel Roof Trusses Begin Arrival
Project Manager Charlie Prewitt (right) speaks to reporters about the preassembled sections of the Brunel Trusses being delivered to the stadium site.
Pre-assembled sections of the roof trusses have begun arriving at the Cardinals Stadium site, pushing the project closer to another stadium milestone.
The massive 20 x 20 sections – each weighing more than 70 tons – are being delivered weekly to the site and arranged in a manner which will allow the assembly of the two giant trusses which will span the length of the stadium and support the roof.
The sections are being fabricated locally at Schuff Steel in Phoenix and are fitted together with the other sections at the plant, then disassembled and shipped to the stadium site where they will be reassembled starting in mid-August.
Workers are positioning the sections starting at the north end of the stadium bowl in a way that will allow them to be swung onto temporary scaffolding to accommodate the unique curve which gives the truss its strength. The sections will be joined together to create the two 700-foot long trusses, known as Brunel trusses for the English engineer who originated their unique design. The roof and retractable panels are mainly supported by the two Brunel trusses. Each truss is almost 90 feet high at its tallest point and weighs about 1,800 tons. Brunel’s truss design is credited with allowing long, uninterrupted expanses to be bridged.
The trusses will be assembled at field level and then the roof will be fabricated and joined to the trusses while the entire unit is safely resting on temporary foundations. Having the roof fabricated on the ground dramatically improves safety and efficiency versus trying to build it while exposed to the elements 210 feet in the air.
The trusses are made of specially-milled, high-strength steel that will support the two retractable roof panels which will span nearly 240 feet wide and 558 feet long. This bit of mechanical magic will all be possible because of the steel framework,
composed of 8,000 tons of structural steel and special mechanized equipment.
Schuff, the same company that fabricated and erected the steel framework for Bank One Ballpark, is located in Phoenix at 420 South 19th Ave. and at 619 N. Cooper Road in Gilbert. Schuff has been subcontracted to fabricate, assemble, and erect the structural steel for the project. Between 150 and 200 local workers are employed in this effort.
The steel subcontract for Schuff totals about $34 million. The trusses represent the $6 million order for the high strength steel components used to build the primary trusses and secondary roof trusses.
The requirements for a special size of high-strength steel led to the contracting of Trade Arbed in Luxemburg, one of only two companies in the world with the ability to manufacture such steel. The member sizes required are not manufactured domestically. Trade Arbed is also the same company that provided selected roof members utilized in the roof trusses for the Bank One Ballpark. The Authority placed this order with Trade Arbed in Sept. 2001, thereby avoiding costly U.S. Steel tariffs imposed in 2002 as well as the recent sharp run-up in steel prices worldwide.
The remaining 90% of the subcontract amount includes domestic steel with a majority of the work being performed in Phoenix.
The Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority, the Arizona Cardinals, Hunt Construction Group, Schuff, Walter P. Moore & Associates, and Uni-Systems Inc. have developed a number of ways to economize many aspects of the unique structural steel and mechanization systems.
In February, the roof will be mostly fabricated and then the entire 6,200-ton assembly will be hoisted up from the floor to the final assembly point overhead. Mammoet, a company which specializes in heavy lifts, will raise the roof in roughly six hours by using eight strand jacks which will move the roof 18 inches at a time and 35 feet an hour.
One section of the Brunel Truss towers over Project Manager Charlie Prewitt.
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Project Manager Charlie Prewitt (right) speaks to reporters about the preassembled sections of the Brunel Trusses being delivered to the stadium site.
Pre-assembled sections of the roof trusses have begun arriving at the Cardinals Stadium site, pushing the project closer to another stadium milestone.
The massive 20 x 20 sections – each weighing more than 70 tons – are being delivered weekly to the site and arranged in a manner which will allow the assembly of the two giant trusses which will span the length of the stadium and support the roof.
The sections are being fabricated locally at Schuff Steel in Phoenix and are fitted together with the other sections at the plant, then disassembled and shipped to the stadium site where they will be reassembled starting in mid-August.
Workers are positioning the sections starting at the north end of the stadium bowl in a way that will allow them to be swung onto temporary scaffolding to accommodate the unique curve which gives the truss its strength. The sections will be joined together to create the two 700-foot long trusses, known as Brunel trusses for the English engineer who originated their unique design. The roof and retractable panels are mainly supported by the two Brunel trusses. Each truss is almost 90 feet high at its tallest point and weighs about 1,800 tons. Brunel’s truss design is credited with allowing long, uninterrupted expanses to be bridged.
The trusses will be assembled at field level and then the roof will be fabricated and joined to the trusses while the entire unit is safely resting on temporary foundations. Having the roof fabricated on the ground dramatically improves safety and efficiency versus trying to build it while exposed to the elements 210 feet in the air.
The trusses are made of specially-milled, high-strength steel that will support the two retractable roof panels which will span nearly 240 feet wide and 558 feet long. This bit of mechanical magic will all be possible because of the steel framework,
composed of 8,000 tons of structural steel and special mechanized equipment.
Schuff, the same company that fabricated and erected the steel framework for Bank One Ballpark, is located in Phoenix at 420 South 19th Ave. and at 619 N. Cooper Road in Gilbert. Schuff has been subcontracted to fabricate, assemble, and erect the structural steel for the project. Between 150 and 200 local workers are employed in this effort.
The steel subcontract for Schuff totals about $34 million. The trusses represent the $6 million order for the high strength steel components used to build the primary trusses and secondary roof trusses.
The requirements for a special size of high-strength steel led to the contracting of Trade Arbed in Luxemburg, one of only two companies in the world with the ability to manufacture such steel. The member sizes required are not manufactured domestically. Trade Arbed is also the same company that provided selected roof members utilized in the roof trusses for the Bank One Ballpark. The Authority placed this order with Trade Arbed in Sept. 2001, thereby avoiding costly U.S. Steel tariffs imposed in 2002 as well as the recent sharp run-up in steel prices worldwide.
The remaining 90% of the subcontract amount includes domestic steel with a majority of the work being performed in Phoenix.
The Arizona Sports & Tourism Authority, the Arizona Cardinals, Hunt Construction Group, Schuff, Walter P. Moore & Associates, and Uni-Systems Inc. have developed a number of ways to economize many aspects of the unique structural steel and mechanization systems.
In February, the roof will be mostly fabricated and then the entire 6,200-ton assembly will be hoisted up from the floor to the final assembly point overhead. Mammoet, a company which specializes in heavy lifts, will raise the roof in roughly six hours by using eight strand jacks which will move the roof 18 inches at a time and 35 feet an hour.
You must be registered for see images
One section of the Brunel Truss towers over Project Manager Charlie Prewitt.
