49ers Begin Inserting Steel For Stadium Frame

The construction process on the San Francisco 49ers new Santa Clara stadium continues full steam ahead as the steel supports are starting to move into place. While I realize construction is not necessarily the most exciting thing in the world, I still want to track the 49ers stadium project and provide updates as they come available. The 49ers are hoping to move into the stadium in time for the 2014 season, and hopefully win the rights to Super Bowl L in 2016.

This picture to the right comes courtesy of the 49ers twitter account and shows the first steel beam moving into place. These beams will form the frame for their stadium, with 18,000 tons of steel being placed over the next four to six weeks. To date, the construction process has seen 17,000 cubic yards of concrete poured and over 50 miles of pipe have been laid underground.

I've got some pictures of some other stuff after the jump, but if you are looking for something to do, the 49er stadium site offers up a live stream of the construction.

There are multiple aspects to the project going on at the same time as the steel beam insertion. Among other things, Clark Pacific is in the midst of the prefabrication of 2,000 concrete sections that will create the treads, risers, steps and stadium walls. These pieces will be trucked to Santa Clara in October for installation.

The 49ers sent along some photos of the concrete production. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but I figured I'd provide some of the details. This first picture is the "preparing form" to mold and shape the sections.

Here are some of the sections that have been completed.

Here is a mock-up of what this will look like when it is completed. Imagine this bigger and a lot of them connected together.

The 49ers stadium has dealt with some hiccups, with the latest issue being redevelopment agency money being pulled out of the project. The 49ers gained a temporary restraining order to prevent spending of that money by the development board, pending a hearing on August 17. In spite of various legal issues popping up, the project continues and would appear to be in position to finish on time for the 2014 season.