Mountain

In New York's Hudson River Valley, designers creating the world's largest botanical garden proposed a novel challenge that was nothing short of moving a mountain. They wanted to center their design around one of the valley's granite mountain ridges, but only after it had been cut from its original perch and carefully reassembled on another side of the garden's 2,000-acre property. Since the delicate moss, trees and foliage that cloaked the ridge were so important to its unique character, the designers demanded all vegetation remain in perfect condition throughout the move.

As the details of the relocation effort emerged, the overriding concern became the protection and safe transport of the fracture- prone rock. With the aid of CTI Advanced Engineering Solutions™ , CTI's project managers devised a cutting and rigging plan that would safeguard the granite by cutting it into sections no less than 6-feet thick, and by drilling and installing a series of protective reinforcing pins.

The diamond wire saws, themselves, presented a challenge since they were designed to cut concrete – not the denser granite of the ridge. To overcome this, CTI formulated a specialized composite diamond wire capable of shearing through the formidable rock.

To preserve the ridge's natural look, CTI technicians carefully hid all cuts in the cracks and fissures that lined the surface. They also shielded the rock face and vegetation from debris, and took measures to divert the gray black slurry water that drains from each saw's cooling system.

Operating as many as eight saws around the clock, a total of 7,200 square feet of granite weighing more than 2,500 tons was safely cut, rigged, moved and re-erected to create the grand focal point of a beautiful garden.