Brief Construction History:
End 2006- Construction begins on Melbourne Wheel.
July 2007- Columns completed.
August 2007- Hubs installed.
Late 2007- Installation of spokes and wheel frame.
Early 2008- Construction of support building at the bottom of the wheel.
Mid 2008- installation of pods.
November 2008- Opens to the public (originally scheduled for November 28th but delayed due to bad weather and radio wave problems with the backup operating system to the 20th December, 2008).
Detailed Construction History:
Construction of the Melbourne Wheel, or more officially the "Southern Star", began in 2006 and has been a major project in Melbourne since then. The $100 million construction was designed and constructed by ING Real Estate Development Australia, a Japanese company, Sanoyas Hishino Meisho Corporation, head contractor Hansen Yuncken and steel fabricator and erector, Alfasi Steel Constructions.
The Southern Star is 120m (390 ft) high; or if that doesn't excite you, around 40 storeys high! The structure will have 1250 tonnes of steel and 3.7km of LED lighting to brighten Melbourne's landscape at night. The 21 air-conditioned pods/enclosed capsules are 5.7m (19 ft) in length and 3.7m (12 ft) in height. Each pod can comfortably accommodate 20 passengers and will offer fantastic views of Melbourne City, Port Philip Bay, Geelong and other areas of Victoria.
Inside each cabin a central seat provides room for people to walk around and take advantage of the views from floor to ceiling glass walls
The supporting steel columns were manufactured in Tasmania by Alfasi Group and the wheel structure was manufactured in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong.
Proper construction work on the wheel didn't really start till middle 2007. The outer ring of the wheel was completed on the 1st of March 2008. The passenger pods arrived at the Melbourne Eye location on the 10th of June 2008 for installation. By the 20th of October 2008, the pods were receiving their fit out.
Late October, Victorian Premier John Brumby announced the Southern Star will be fully operational and open to the public on November 28 (later delayed due to bad weather and radio wave problems till the 20th December, 2008). The area surrounding the wheel is likely to be quickly developed in the next few years to allow easier access to an attraction that looks set to become one of Melbourne's biggest.
