We have come a long way in 100 years.
The Empire State building, a Manhattan and worldwide iconic building is closing in on 100 years of existence.
It was the tallest building in the world for 40 years. The tower was completed in April of 1931. Built during the worst ever world-wide economic depression.
It has 2.7 million square feet of floor space spread over 102 floors. It is comprised of some 60,000 tons of steel and a very lengthy list of other building products.
It took just 13 months to reach its stature of 1,454 feet (443 meters) and seven additional months to complete all of the planned details.
The entire project, excluding the two acres that it occupies, was built for just under $25 million US. No doubt that was an astounding amount of money at that time.
Fast forward to 2025 and a much smaller building project right here in Vernon.
The long-planned traffic roundabout at 39th avenue and Pleasant Valley Road. A project welcomed by many of the citizens in Vernon as most folks now understand the traffic moving advantage of these intersections.
This project of course has a much smaller, but still astounding cost. At nearly $5 million - 70 cent Canadian dollars it is a mere 25 per cent percent of the cost of the stately old Empire State tower.
Chalk that up to inflation I suppose.
However, what really stands out is that the construction periods of time to complete the two projects are not all that different.
Our tiny intersection project, if all goes as planned, will take just over two-thirds as long as that still magnificent structure in uptown New York City, USA.
How far we have come.
Jeff Moore
