The focal point of the State Fair of Texas Midway is the newly completed Top o’ Texas Tower ride. Foundation for the super gyro tower was built in summer 2011 and the first two of six shaft components were stacked in mid November 2012. Remaining shaft components were erected in December, followed by attachments of the gondola and carrier.
- Additional key points of interest are as follows:
- Overall tower height is 500 feet
- Ride duration is 4 minutes, 30 seconds, including a five-second stop at the top
- Ride accommodates up to 100 passengers per cycle
- 13 rides per hour = 1300 riders per hour
- Cabin travels vertically at a speed of 6.5 feet per second and rotates one foot per second
- 55-ft. cabin diameter
- 10’6” shaft diameter
- Ride manufacturer is Intamin Ltd., of Glen Burnie, Maryland
- General contractor is Phoenix 1 of Dallas
- Crane operator is TNT Crane & Rigging of Longview, Texas
- Ride installer is I.L.C. Construction, LLC of Seattle
- Conventional crane used to erect tower is an 800-ton Demag with a boom height of 530 feet
- Completed tower structure weighs approximately 1,060,000 pounds
- Foundation contains 1,600 cubic yards of concrete
- The ride has 1.4 million programmable LED lights that can be synchronized with the Midway light show
- Total project cost of ride = $12,000,000