As work escalates on Reliant Stadium, so does our coverage. HoustonTexans.com will now post construction photos every two weeks. Aerial shots are featured at the bottom of the page.
On Friday, workers lifted an 800,000-pound truss and mounted it on the northwest corner of the stadium. The trusses supply the framework that will support the stadium's retractable roof. All told, they will eventually span five city blocks.
"This one is a 150-feet long, 50-feet tall piece of truss," said Rex Brown, Linbeck Construction senior superintendent on the project. "They reassembled it in an adjacent yard, then walked it over to the center of the stadium.
"Two cranes, a 600-ton and a 500-ton crane, are hanging on to this 400-ton piece. They're going to roll it up on the ground, pick it up in the air, set it and secure it on the apparatus."
Thus far, 69 percent (755,115 of 1,100,000 square feet) of the elevated deck has been poured. Nearly 72 percent (108,500 of 150,000 cubic yards) of the total concrete has been poured. Roughly 69 percent of the steel tonnage (9,850 of 14,500 tons) is in place. Approximately 21 percent of the total structural pre-cast pieces have been set as of mid-March.
Both the northwest and southwest super columns have been completed, totaling 15 lifts each. Work is nearly complete on the 14th lift of the northeast super column. The anchor bolts are set and workers are beginning to reinforce the steel installation. Lift 10 is on tap for the southeast column.
Texans Executive VP Steve Patterson explains the truss lift to the media.
There are currently 700 workers on the construction site.
Reliant Stadium is set to open in August of 2002 when the Texans host the Miami Dolphins in their first home preseason game. Houston will then host the Buccaneers the following week before embarking on its inaugural regular-season campaign.
