Lost Hills Project

December 9, 2008 Lost Hills Project Demolition of second crude oil storage tank ********************************************************************************************************************************* In Central Coast California, Hwy. 46 begins at the coast, just south of Cambria, runs eastward, and ends at Hwy. 99, just north of Bakersfield. Hwy. 46 East is being improved and widened. Many different types of projects have to take place before the widening process can begin in particular areas. The Lost Hills Project is located at the old Antelope Pumping Station, which was phased out @ 20 yrs. ago. This Station included two large crude oil storage tanks which were in the path of the upcoming widening of the Hwy. The first of the two tanks had already been demolished and removed from the site. The demolition of the second tank was scheduled for this morning. This tank was 30 ft. high x 80 ft. in diameter. The steel of the walls is 1/2" thick at the base, and @ two-thirds towards the top it thins to 3/8". Look closely at the walls and notice they are made from connected 5' x 10 ' panels; each weighing 1000 lbs (1/2 ton). There were two primary heavy equipment machines working incredibly well together; beginning with the yellow clipper cutting a slice in that steel wall from top to bottom. I specifically included a shot of my friend, Tom, standing next to the clipper blade, just to give some perspective as to its size. Then, the orange bucket would grab hold of a bent piece at the top and start pulling the side out and away as he backed up. Watching them work with that steel looked more like they were working with aluminum! They would work with areas of the walls, cutting, tearing, pulling, bending then grabbing the torn away section and moving it to the side. I know that one of the pieces had almost 16 full panels; @8,000 tons which the bucket grabbed, lifted and moved out of their way! I must admit that I was totally fascinated and very impressed during my shoot of this project! Makes sense; years ago, I operated a mini-excavator and a backhoe, occasionally for an excavating business!!! Today, I was watching several 'Masters-of-the-trade'; some highly skilled and efficient operators! It was actually quite a treat!! Thank You, Gentlemen!! ************************************************************************************************************************************* I have included a collage of this project in a 'Daily Photo' gallery: My Task At Hand