Millionth Corvette Unexpectedly Saved Early

Crew Took Opportunity to Grab Car During Sinkhole Prep

In an unexpected turn of events, the Millionth Corvette was resurrected from the depths of the sinkhole today.

"Initially there was no intention to bring the Millionth out, but as we got in there and saw more this morning we did feel like this might be our best chance," said Danny Daniel, President of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction.

Danny indicated that they pulled the car by one wheel from where it was lodged and it swung free into the cavern. They were then able to lift the car and place it to rest, upside down on the bottom of the sinkhole. Finally, the Corvette was hooked up by its two tires for final lifting out of the sinkhole, much like the process to retrieve the 1993 40th Anniversary.

"Went like a champ, we were tickled to death," added Daniel.

"The Millionth Corvette has been through a lot, but the damage at first glance seems to be less extensive than what it could have been, especially given the precarious spot the car landed," said Bob Hellmann, Facilities and Displays Manager at the Museum. "The undercarriage and frame look to be in good condition and everything is repairable."

The Millionth Corvette was built at 2:00pm on July 2, 1992 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Just like the first 1953 Corvettes, it bears a white exterior, red interior and is a convertible. The car was donated to the Corvette Museum by General Motors. In a press release from 1991, Jim Perkins, General Manager for Chevrolet at the time, said "We've been looking for a way to support the goals of the museum, which are to enshrine a great car and the great people who made it an American institution." This donation came two years before the museum that exists today had opened its doors.

"I couldn't afford Corvettes when I was growing up," Perkins said in a 1991 release. "Not many could. But it was enough to know it was a Chevy just as sure as the one I could afford. And that hasn't changed. There's still a little bit of Corvette lurking in every Chevy today. And there will be for a long time to come."

More than 20 years later, Perkins was right. There were and still are many great Corvettes to come. The Museum now has half of the cars recovered from the sinkhole and on display, and in a few weeks hopes to be adding four more cars for visitors to see. Construction crews will continue the stabilization of the spire and walls of the sinkhole before attempting to vacuum out the dirt from around the remaining cars.

"We appreciate all of the support and interest from Corvette and auto enthusiasts around the world," said Wendell Strode, Museum Executive Director. "We still have a long road ahead, lots of repairs to make but we are confident we will come out better than ever. We hope folks will consider registering for our Bash event in April, stopping by when their travels take them through Bowling Green this summer, or make plans to caravan here with about 10,000 of our closest friends in August!"

Links to photos, videos and press releases are available on the Museum's website at www.corvettemuseum.org. For the latest updates visit the Museum’s Facebook Fan page at www.facebook.com/corvettemuseum.

Third Corvette Emerges From Sinkhole

1962 Black Corvette Successful Saved

 

It's been almost three weeks since a 40' wide, 60' deep sinkhole opened up within the Skydome of the National Corvette Museum, taking eight prized Corvettes with it. Construction and engineering teams have been hard at work since day one, putting a plan in place for the recovery of the cars and restoration of the building.

The recovery of the three most accessible Corvettes: the 2009 "Blue Devil" ZR1, a 1993 40th Anniversary Ruby Red Corvette and a 1962 Black Corvette commenced on Tuesday with all three cars being successfully saved. Monday's "Operation Corvette Plus" resulted in the recovery of the 2009 and the 1993 and nearly all day Tuesday was dedicated to the 1962 - a car that was recovered around 1:45pm CT giving spectators watching from the Museum's plexiglass viewing area and the construction and engineering crews a huge sigh of relief.

The team began work early Tuesday, extracting a portion of the car lift that had become mangled around the car, removing the hood from the '62 and tying a strap to the engine bay, then drilling anchors into the slab of concrete that appeared to be wedged into the grill. In hooking their lifting devices to the car they discovered that they didn't have to lift the slab to free the car. "Really, all that went better than I expected... that's my favorite car," said Mike Murphy, CEO of Scott, Murphy and Daniel Construction.

"I see body damage. The chassis looks intact, the frame's not bent, the interior (other than being a little dirty) is pristine. So, I think it's some fiberglass work, some ornamentation work, and paint," said John Spencer, Manufacturing Integration Manager at the GM Corvette Assembly Plant. "This car is in amazing shape considering what it's been through. I don't see anything unrepairable."

Murphy indicated that the next step will be to remove the concrete slab off the bank of the hole, and to remove the rest of the car lift. After those are out of the way they will begin stabilizing and securing the red spire and the walls of the hole. "I'm tickled to death that we were able to get those three cars out with no problems, and they were in good condition," he added.

All three cars are now on display in the Museum's Exhibit Hall. They will be joined in late April by the remaining five Corvettes - marking a culmination of the sinkhole recovery efforts. The Museum is planning a formal exhibit of these cars "as is," along with various photos, videos, information and artifacts through August 3. The plexiglass viewing area of the Skydome will be available as long as construction is on-going, and the 'dome' is expected to re-open by late August.

"While we don't know exactly how long the repair and remediation of the sinkhole will take, we feel confident that the Skydome will be as good as new in time for the Museum's 20th Anniversary Celebration," said Executive Director Wendell Strode. "August 27-30 of this year will be an exciting time in Bowling Green, Kentucky as we will have over 10,000 Corvette enthusiasts caravaning from all over the country to celebrate the Museum, the Grand Opening of our Motorsports Park, and now the re-opening of our Skydome."

Links to photos, videos and press releases are available on the Museum's website at www.corvettemuseum.org. For the latest updates visit the Museum’s Facebook Fan page at www.facebook.com/corvettemuseum.

National Corvette Museum Retrieves First Corvette From Sinkhole

2009 "Blue Devil" ZR1 Emerges Nearly Unscathed

Crowds of construction personnel, media, Museum visitors and staff cheered as the first Corvette, the 2009 "Blue Devil" ZR1 emerged from the depths of the sinkhole this morning at approximately 10:35am CT. The process was streamed live on two of the Museum's web cams with thousands of viewers tuning in all over the world.

"It's wonderful... just seven more to go," said Mike Murphy, construction manager for the project.
Even more cheers erupted when the car cranked up after only a few tries, and even drove about 20 feet to the doorway of the Skydome. "That's a GM product for you. They take a licking and keep on ticking!" added Murphy.

The crews have been working six days a week since the sinkhole incident that swallowed eight Corvettes in the National Corvette Museum's Skydome exhibit area. This past Saturday, the crews rigged up the ZR1 and did a few test lifts. John Spencer, Manufacturing Integration Manager at the GM Corvette Assembly Plant, helped consult the team on the best points to strap up the car. "With Mike, worker safety is number one. There are no compromises," said Spencer.

"I was worried about the wheels," said Murphy. "This morning we took so long because we wanted to add some secondary straps in case the wheels pulled. It was just a little more insurance."
Murphy added that with this project, nothing is set in stone on how to do it. "It's been a huge relief. It went better than expected," he said.

After the elation of the first car being rescued and even cranking up, the Museum staff were excited to put the car back on display in the Museum's Exhibit Hall. "It's incredible to have the car back on display again. It's what we've been hoping for," said Bob Hellmann, Facilities and Displays Manager. "Now we just want to get the next seven, restore the cars, and get them all back on display."

The Museum plans on displaying the cars as they are recovered, now through August 3. In addition, this Spring they plan to create a special display with information on the sinkhole incident, sinkholes and karst background details, videos, photos and more.

After taking a lunch break, the crew will resume the car retrieval process - with the 1993 "Ruby Red" 40th Anniversary Corvette slated for recovery Monday afternoon. The 1962 Black Corvette is planned to be retrieved on Tuesday, but will be much trickier as a five ton slab of concrete is partially resting on the front of the car. Two cranes will be used to simultaneously lift the car and the concrete.

Links to photos, videos and press releases are available on the Museum's website at www.corvettemuseum.org. For the latest updates visit the Museum’s Facebook Fan page at www.facebook.com/corvettemuseum.

Skydome Update from Construction Manager, Car Extraction Plan Announced

Providing timely updates on the Corvette sinkhole incident has always been a priority for the Museum. In an effort to provide everyone with as much information as possible, Mike Murphy with Scott, Murphy and Daniel, our Construction Management company, has written an update as to the work that has been completed and the plan for work moving forward.

OPERATION “CORVETTE PLUS”
We’ve named the project this because for something to raise from a base level ‘up’ equals moving in a ‘+’ direction.  Our ultimate goal is to keep the existing building ‘up’ in its original position, raise the Corvettes in the hole ‘up’, then bring the fill in the hole ‘up’ and lastly, bring the concrete floor back ‘up’ to its original level.

We are very appreciative of the National Corvette Museum, Chubb Insurance and VanMeter Insurance Group to allow us to assemble the best group of professionals to effectively and accurately ‘heal this horrendous hole’ in the Skydome.  Our reputation both in business and personally, obligates us to hold the best interest of our community partner in mind 24/7 until the project is completed.

“CORVETTE PLUS” ESTIMATED SCHEDULE
Since the beginning of the project, the number one goal is to ‘proceed cautiously ‘ with the recovery and reconstruction in such a manner to keep safety of the facility and the workers the main priority and number two,  plan and perform in a positive (+) direction daily.  Because there are so many unknowns within the boundaries of this project, having an exact schedule ‘in stone’ is not practical or possible.  Every day’s planning and action determines the next step in executing a successful operation.

THIS WEEK (2/24/2014)
We began the week finishing shallow test borings in the remainder of the Skydome floor to insure there was no immediate danger of another sink hole collapse happening in the remaining floor space. These tests proved successful.

Before heavy equipment such as manlifts, excavators and cranes (which are on site and ready to approach the sink hole area) could be brought into the Skydome area, deeper test drilling was performed to insure a sufficient thickness of earth and rock was present to support this equipment’s entry and operation. The last test hole was completed Wednesday morning and the ‘positive data’ recorded has now been turned over to the engineers and geologists for their analysis and verification. Additionally on Wednesday, drillers moved their operation to the outside foundation of the Skydome and have begun the drilling, high-strength grouting and installation of steel cased micro piling connected to the dome’s perimeter foundation. This operation, securing and reinforcing the building’s foundation, will continue for approximately 1 ½ to 2 weeks. 

Today, Thursday (2/26/14), we received ‘the go ahead’ by the professionals to give the ‘green light’ to bring equipment into the area and begin the set-up and preparation for the cranes to suspend engineers and contractors safely into the middle of the sink area and examine closer the condition of the hole and finalize the recovery plan, determine exact measurements for lifting and verify techniques for beginning the removal of the ‘three’ most assessable vehicles (those not embedded into the embankment). The mobilizing of equipment and accessories, along with the final planning and hole condition examination should finish this week’s work schedule through Saturday, as the outside piling installation continues. There is a suspended steel ring around the spire in which the lighting and sprinkler system is located. A quick test run on Wednesday is indicating the possibility to disconnect the system and raise it above the needed working area of the crane booms. This could possibly cause a day’s delay in the recovery operation should this be determined once cranes are in their designated positions.

Everyone should keep in mind that a special operation such as this cannot be on an ‘exact planned schedule’ like a new building under construction is often orchestrated.  Concerns and calculations which insure the safety of the building and workforce will remain our #1 priority, even if it impedes our schedule to insure that each task is performed exact and successful.

NEXT WEEK (3/3/2014)
We anticipate if all plans and factors work successfully, the removal of the first three vehicles will begin during the day on Monday, in hopes to have all three cars extracted by Wednesday. The first car to be removed is the 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil." There may be some complications when removing the 1962 Black Corvette because the 5 ton concrete slab resting against the front of the car must be lifted simultaneously and in conjunction with the lifting of the vehicle. We will be allowing approved media to film INSIDE of the Skydome during the first car's removal.

STAY TUNED
IF WE (Scott, Murphy & Daniel Construction) HAVE ANY CHANGES OR ALTERATIONS OF OUR SCHEDULE, WE WILL NOTIFY THE CORVETTE MUSEUM AND OFFER OUR BEST GUESS ‘UPDATES.’

National Corvette Museum "Open for Business"

Tours, Deliveries, Rentals carry on as usual; Viewing window added for visitor glimpse of sinkhole

February 12, 2014 is a day that will go down in the history books of Corvette, a day when a large sinkhole opened up in one of the most unusual spots – the Skydome area of the National Corvette Museum, taking eight prized Corvettes with it. Teams of engineers and construction personnel have been on-site since day one, securing the area and moving forward with the remediation of the sinkhole. While the Museum was closed to the public on the day of the unfortunate event, we re-opened the following day and have been open normal hours since then. The Skydome area of the Museum is the only portion currently closed to the public.

The safety of Museum employees and guests is our #1 priority, and with that in mind we wanted to share information from our team of experienced professionals as to safety and stabilization of the building.

“Concerning the safety of the facility at the National Corvette Museum, it is important to understand that the Skydome is an independent structure that is isolated from the remainder of the facility with a building expansion joint. The collapse of the slab-on-grade within the Skydome has not compromised the structures of the remaining facility. Furthermore, it should be noted that the Skydome structure has been closely monitored and exhibits no signs of displacement or member distress at this time.”
– Kevin Krantz, Structural Engineer, K&S Engineering, PLLC

“Having spent 40 years living and working in the Bowling Green area, sinkholes and our Karst geology are a fact of life for our Firm and our community. Of the many sinkhole remediation projects that we have consulted on, I cannot recall any situation where additional sinkhole collapses have occurred as a result of an initial collapse. We have no reason to believe that the situation at the National Corvette Museum is any different. For the safety of the public, our Firm has monitored the facility daily since the morning of the collapse and will continue to monitor the facility daily until all repairs are completed. During this monitoring, we have seen no indication of additional collapses therefore, we believe that the National Corvette Museum is safe and encourage the public to continue visiting.”
- Dennis D. Smith, PE, PLS, M.ASCE and Matt Rogers, PE, M.ASCE, DDS Engineering, PLLC

“In Bowling Green, Kentucky, we are highly knowledgeable about sinkholes and caves, as we have studied them for many decades through pioneering work done at WKU and from others. This area of the country is an iconic example of a landscape where sinkholes occur. In recent years, our knowledge and understanding, along with the technology and science to better study these landforms, has advanced significantly. Living, visiting, or vacationing in an area like Bowling Green, KY is as safe as anywhere else in the country. In fact, millions come very year specifically to visit places like Mammoth Cave and our natural parks solely because of their interesting and dynamic geology and water features! “
– Dr. Jason Polk, Assistant Professor of Geography and Geology, Western Kentucky University. Dr. Polk also recommends www.underbgky.org for more information on Bowling Green’s karst landscape.

Two barrier walls have been installed between the Skydome building and the rest of the Museum. One wall includes a video monitor which shows live webcam footage of the work being completed in the Skydome. The other wall incorporates a plexi-glass viewing area so that guests may witness the sinkhole for themselves from a safe distance. Both areas are part of the Museum tour and included with regular admission.

The National Corvette Museum is open daily, 8am to 5pm and is located at I-65 exit 28 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Learn more about the Museum at www.corvettemuseum.org and get the latest updates on the Museum’s Facebook Fan page at www.facebook.com/corvettemuseum.

Construction Management Company Updates Community on Sinkhole Game Plan

On Thursday, February 13 the Museum held a press conference to update everyone on the game plan for the sinkhole.  Mike Murphy, CEO of Scott, Murphy & Daniel Construction, shared that sinkholes are very common for this area, but that what is not common is for one to swallow eight Corvettes.  He stated that it is repairable and the building foundation and structure is in good condition.

The plans for moving forward include securing the sinkhole and surrounding areas so that even if the Museum were to experience future sinkholes nearby it would not affect the Museum.  It will take 2-3 weeks to stabilize and secure the area (the red spire, the walls of the sinkhole), after which the process of vehicle recovery will begin.  The team will be making sure the sinkhole is safe and that no further damage will occur before starting vehicle recover.

The vehicle recovery process is anticipated to take 4-6 days to retrieve the vehicles.  After that, they will replace the earth and floor system.

"We have a good plan and it takes action tomorrow [Friday]," stated Mike.  He added that they don't foresee any problems, and that they have accomplished a lot in the past 24 hours.

Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode added their confidence in the process being complete in time for the National Corvette Museum's 20th Anniversary Celebration August 27-30 and the Grand Opening of the NCM Motorsports Park.

Register for the Museum's 20th Anniversary event online here.

Chevrolet to Oversee Restoration of Historic Corvettes

Museum cars damaged in sinkhole collapse will be shipped to Warren Mich. 

DETROIT – To help the National Corvette Museum recover from the massive sink hole, Chevrolet will be overseeing restoration of the Corvettes damaged. The process will be managed by General Motors Design in Warren, Mich. 

“The vehicles at the National Corvette Museum are some of the most significant in automotive history,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of General Motors Global Product Development. “There can only be one 1-millionth Corvette ever built. We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans from around the world can enjoy them when the Museum reopens.”

The restoration will be overseen by Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design.

When the cars are recovered, they will be shipped to the Mechanical Assembly facility, a small specialty shop within GM Design, where the best restoration approach will be determined. Mechanical Assembly has been part of GM Design since the 1930s, and today maintains and restores many of the vehicles in the GM Heritage Collection and GM’s historic concept cars.

The National Corvette Museum is independently owned, and supported solely by charitable donations from enthusiasts. It is currently accepting donations on its website to assist in refurbishing the facility. Donations are tax-deductible.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year.  Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

New GM Corvette Assembly Plant Manager Jeff Lamarche announces GM will oversee the restoration off all cars recovered from the sinkhole. Jeff also pledged his support with a personal monetary donation.