Concrete results

The world record for the longest continuous concrete pour was broken last week in Los Angeles. We'll bet you didn’t even know that was a thing.

Well it is, and according to the Associated Press, round-the-clock pouring started in LA on Feb. 15 at 4:47 p.m. for the foundation a new skyscraper project.  208 trucks made more than 2,100 trips and dumped about 82 million pounds of concrete over an 18-hour period. The on-site Guinness World Records adjudicator, Michael Empric, said the resulting 21,200 cubic yards of concrete eked out the previous record of 21,000 cubic yards set by Las Vegas' Venetian hotel, in 1999.

Developed by Korean Air and estimated to cost more than $1 billion, the skyscraper, called the New Wilshire Grand, will feature five underground parking levels, convention space, office suites and a 900-room hotel, according to the Los Angeles Times. Typically foundations for buildings of this size are poured in smaller sections and then connected, but engineers on the project wanted to pour a single block to give the tower more structural support.

Dubbed the “Grand Pour,” the engineering feat took some logistical legwork. The AP reports that because concrete must be poured within 90 minutes of mixing, it was critically important that trucks arrived at the site on time. Sean Rossall, a spokesman for the project, told the AP traffic was a concern, but crews “double-planned and triple-planned” to avoid delays.

Once complete, the New Wilshire Grand will stand 1,100 feet, making it the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, the Los Angeles Times reports. It is scheduled to open in 2017, according to project materials.

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