Remember yesterday when snow and ice weren’t everywhere? Think back to that as you read about Katie Minchew’s tour of The Park, which she took on a warmer day.
You may think that in order to build a park you would only need to plan the layout, the landscaping, and the equipment. At least, that’s what I thought before my meeting with Keith Bjerke, project manager for The Park. As Bjerke and I toured, we came across a man with a hardhat standing over a hole on the side of the access road. There was a large yellow tube sticking out of the hole that connected to this large yellow machine. I was intrigued.
I learned that this man works for AT&T and that in order for this entire park to be built, two utility crossings have to be moved. A utility crossing houses the water cable, gas cable, Time Warner cables, AT&T cables, etc. The entire process is scheduled to take four months. It began in December and should be complete in April.
I must have looked ridiculous in all my amazement because the man gave me a big smile as I gawked at the noisy equipment. I discovered that he has the daunting task of uprooting, moving, and reconnecting 24 giant plastic tubes (called conduits) with a bunch (1600 pairs) of wires running through each. As you can see from the picture, it makes quite a lovely rainbow of wires.
As I am thinking about how much the group of wires reminds me of those giant crayons you make as kids where you melt old crayons in the oven, Bjerke informs me that these wires control the entire north side of downtown Dallas. This just so happens to be where I’m about to go so I stop asking questions and let the man get back to work. –Katie Minchew
