Cowboys stadium reaches another milestone

By SALLY CLAUNCH
sclaunch@star-telegram.com

ARLINGTON — Workers at the $1 billion Cowboys stadium installed the first pin Thursday that will join the giant steel to abutments in the ground.
The connection, or plate, is 19 feet wide and 6 1/2 feet tall. Workers lifted the plate by a crane and aligned it perfectly, sliding it onto bolts sticking from the base for the arches that will support the stadium's retractable roof.

Jack Hill called the installation a major milestone in the stadium's progress. He added that recent rains haven't thrown the project too far off course.

"We’ve lost a few days here and there, but we’ll be caught up by the end of summer," he said. Hill said he expects to begin erecting the arches by the end of this month.

By the numbers
-- 1,000: Number of construction workers building the stadium
-- 20 million pounds: Amount of weight each arch base can support
-- 313 feet: Height from the playing field to the arches' apex
-- 70,000 pounds: Weight of the pin connection, or plate, that connects the arches to their base.