Cedar Point Amusement Park is set to prepare the concrete foundation for its newest ride, the 301-foot-tall WindSeeker swing ride.

Weather permitting tomorrow, Jan. 14, more than 1,600 tons of concrete will be poured to build the 30-story ride's foundation. The dimensions of the foundation are 60 feet by 60 feet by 6 feet deep and will require more than 800 cubic yards of concrete. Prior to the pour, more than 36 tons of steel rebar and 176 steel anchor bolts have been placed in position.

Overall, the total weight of the foundation will be more than 3.3 million pounds, or 1,650-plus tons of concrete and steel.

The Adena Corp. of Mansfield will build the foundation while Huron Cement of Huron will deliver the concrete. Cedar Point said the pour is scheduled to begin at approximately 7 a.m. and should be completed by 5 p.m. A fleet of 14 trucks is scheduled to make 80 continuous trips to the park to transport the concrete....

And Cedar Point will have not one but two webcams covering the process:

http://www.crainscle.../FREE/110119895

It still blows my mind they can not only pour cement in this weather, they can effectivly do it in sand with the water table being so close.

I'm not saying they can't do it, as it has been done at CP for YEARS, but the dynamics of it still shocks me.

Well, they can add admixtures to the concrete to allow pouring in cold conditions. And because of the soil conditions, you can guarantee that the foundation design is different than that of Kings Island`s foundation. Soil conditions is a big determining factor in designing foundations for rides, and structural engineers rely on soil cores to determine the soil bearing capacity to adequately size the foundation to support the proposed structures. And the soil conditions on a given site can change quite dramatically. One project that I`ve worked on in the office recently had such poor soil conditions, that they were having to do 42" concrete piers and a grade beam because the soil couldn`t support conventional construction.

For those that were wondering why the capital expenditure was going to be higher at CP (can't find data, but remember the conversation), the foundation data helps answer that question.

- Kings Island: 45' across, 6' deep

- Cedar Point: 60' across, 6' deep

That's almost 80% more concrete and therefore likely rebar also at Cedar Point. That much concrete isn't cheap!

For those that were wondering why the capital expenditure was going to be higher at CP (can't find data, but remember the conversation), the foundation data helps answer that question.

- Kings Island: 45' across, 6' deep

- Cedar Point: 60' across, 6' deep

That's almost 80% more concrete and therefore likely rebar also at Cedar Point. That much concrete isn't cheap!

Yes, concrete isn't when that much is needed, which makes me think does things like this (WS and such) need a special formulation of concrete?

Webcam link. http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun/webcams/index.cfm

It does look significantly bigger than the one at KI from the pictures.

Well they finished pouring the concrete at CP. About an hour ahead of their deadline of 5pm I might add. It looks pretty good.

and they're done with the thermal blankets at 5:40... also part of the pour

It was cool seeing them use the extension boom to lay em

Well, I can guarantee you that installing all those pacers in Ciney Mall is not a cheap endeavor either. And a little bit more concrete in the grand scheme of things does not add that much to the total cost.

Yes, there are different strength concrete mixes. They are measured in psi (pounds per square inch). The higher the number, the stronger the mix. The strength of concrete is usually specified by the structural engineer based on the loads and the soil conditions.

Great Ohio Coaster Club has some pictures here:

http://www.greatohiocc.org/photos/index.php/Cedar-Point-WindSeeker-Construction-January-2011

Video up: