Iron workers, masonries, crane operators and project managers are among the hundreds of people who are busy scurrying around a jobsite in South Florida at the start of the workweek. They’re working in unison to complete the $200 million Miami Art Museum project currently underway in Downtown Miami. General contractor John Moriarty & Associates of Florida is overseeing the redesign of Bicentennial Park, which will be renamed Museum Park. It will soon be home to both the new art museum and a $300 million Miami Science Museum.
By early morning, CCO Carlos Canepa is hunkered down in a 60-ton Tadano rough terrain crane. Today he’s charged with lifting wall form panels. He swings his boom in a half circle, delivering the massive piece into the hands of workers who are waiting to secure it in place.
As this is happening, CCO Rory “Bubba” Carver is rolling onto the jobsite in a 275-ton Kobelco crawler crane. The lattice boom is already attached and dominating the sky. He’s waited for some time for workers to pull apart a fence to make room for the crane. The outriggers soon come out. As he’s doing this, it’s obvious a storm is brewing. It’s not long before the dark clouds give way to Mother Nature and afternoon rain and lighting temporarily brings production to a halt.
But by the next morning, it’s work as usual. Workers are finishing up columns, walls, decks, beams & slab-on-grade and getting them ready for the concrete to be poured. Carver busies himself, adjusting the boom to lift and place beams in the designated areas.
The new Miami Art Museum is expected to open its doors in 2013. 200,000 square feet of exhibit space will house international art of the 20th and 21st century that emphasizes the cultures of the Atlantic Rim-the Americas, Europe and Africa. The move will mean more available space for the museum that’s currently located on the west side of Miami’s downtown.
