Grand Canyon skywalk completed

[JAE]

Here's a link on its opening:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259863,00.html

 

[FOETS]

"worry about disturbing nearby burial sites, and environmentalists have blamed the tribe for transforming the majestic canyon into a tourist trap."


Maybe a more traditional casino would have appeased the ancestors and tree-huggers better.

 

[HgTX]

Not if they hung the casino out over the edge of the canyon.

Hg

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[Kwan]

Remember the post awhile ago announced this project. The beam was much shorter in the conceptual plan. Wishful thinking I guess.

 

[ukinam]

Looking at some actual photos of the skywalk, it seems there are railings at the back of the structure. Is the skywalk retractable? For maintenance purposes maybe?

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events//us/030807grandcanyon;_ylt=Ah22___iCAfwFQVUdtPccMTq188F

 

[archeng59]

ukinam, I wondered about those rails, too. It does appear to be retractable. $50 per ticket is pretty steep, but I might do it once. That's gotta be an incredible rush to look thru the floor of that walkway.

 

[HgTX]

"The architect's vision is that visitors will have the sensation of floating freely without the intrusion of visible supports..."

Yeah, not so much.

If I had to guess, I'd say those rails are part of the system they used to launch the structure out, but that it is not intended to be retracted.

Hg

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[MadMango]

I read that the whole system was spring damped to resist jarring from the winds. I also wondered how they were going to prevent abrassion from the sand and people walking on the glass. I guess the $25 booties answer that question.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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[flamby]

I would have liked to have a few open manholes in the deck for more fun.

Ciao.

 

[dimjim]

Who is going to clean the bottom of the glass when
it gets film covered? .

 

[unclesyd]

They will get a HgTX's to bring a bridge inspection machine over and clean while inspecting.

 

[HgTX]

I wonder if they make a snooper truck small enough to get out onto the cantilever...

Maybe they could do a variation on the magnetic scrubbies they use in fishtanks, but with a hose attached for water & cleaning fluid?

Hg

p.s. Is anyone else getting tired of seeing the word "jut" over and over again, or is it just me?



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[GalileoG]

Here's an awesome video of the Grand Canyon skywalk:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BvzlZuWrJNw

 

[271828]

I think it would be cool to walk out there with a vibration analyzer and a metronome. I wonder what kind of acceleration one could produce by bouncing at the natural frequency or one of its subharmonics.