Baker Concrete Construction poured a nearly 6,000-cubic-yard foundation on Jan. 18 for the Queen City Square project in Cincinnati, a building that will eventually become the city's tallest. A concrete mat measuring 25,000 square feet by about 6 feet deep will serve as the footing for a 41-story office complex that will soar 86 feet above Cincinnati's current height standard, the Carew Tower.

"We ran about 600 trucks of concrete in just over 12 hours with typical January weather," says Baker Project Manager Ray Pisaneschi. The temperatures hovered in the low 20s at 1:30 a.m. when the pour began and hadn't warmed much when the finishers wrapped up at 2:30 p.m.

"This is a high-profile job for Cincinnati," says Pisaneschi. "We're excited to take part in changing the skyline of the city."

Averaging a little more than 450 yards per hour, Baker crews manned five concrete pumps that reached some 80 feet below street level to the bottom of the footing. The concrete was reinforced with 1,100 tons of rebar.

Associated Construction Publications