Big Hole in White House Lawn Prompts Equally Big Questions

Source

President Obama, who has been traveling the country urging Congress to pass his jobs bill so Americans can be put to work on infrastructure projects, need only look out a window in the West Wing to see one such project. Under way on his front lawn for the last 17 months, it is highly visible and yet mysterious.

For the first time in recent memory, the ground and pipes beneath the Oval Office are exposed, and each day, workers lower massive concrete blocks several stories underground. Cranes, trucks and construction workers file in and out of the hole, usually through a passageway between the White House and the Old Executive Office Building.

The cavernous hole has inspired much speculation. Is it an Olympic-size swimming pool for the fitness-conscious first couple? A more spacious bunker? A place, perhaps, to hide the deficit?

The General Services Administration says it is an elaborate renovation of the building's aging air-conditioning and electrical systems. These upgrades take place periodically, a G.S.A. spokeswoman, Sara Merriam, said, adding that Washington's Big Dig would soon continue on the other side of the White House grounds

17 months?! What the hell is going on?

I wanted to bring this here to see what others think they could possibly be doing. I could not see some pipe repairs or any sort of upgrade going on to be taking this long and to involve so much space.

I have my money on a better underground bunker, filled with all of todays technology.

Any thoughts?

Pred...

Seriously, who puts their house's AC & electrical system under their front lawn?

Another s ource from April of this year. Interesting. I wonder how many of those missing trillions went into funding this mysterious project?

reply to post by predator0187


obama - "honey look we've struck oil"
michelle - "yay we dont need to invaid the middle east anymore"
obama - "hell no this is mine, lets take theres"

I say bunker.. The prez needs somewhere to move to when he's voted out of office. Haha.

Interesting. I doubt it's ac. Maybe an hvac tech is around ats somewhere, but i think ac needs air circulation?

The white house has many "secret" entrances, and exits for contingencies. This is probably a renovation for those places. We can only speculate the size of the complex beneath the earth.

Maybe its a giant multi-storey crazy golf course!

"NOW WATCH THIS DRIVE!"

Not an HVAC tech, but I am sure the air system for the WH and adjoining tunnel system is probably a bit more complex than the one at the mall.

If the story is on the up n up, it's a system that scrubs NBC hazards for sure, needs to be operational even if the greater Washington DC area is a glass parking lot. It's gotta have it's own generator (or reactor...who knows, there is some buzz about localized mini reactor tech that's out there.)

So in short, the concept of it being an HVAC upgrade is completely plausible to me. Of course, I would also believe anyone who claimed it was an alien/elenin/zombie bunker. Swimming pool? Nah, that's just crazy talk.

I'm leaning towards an ungrade to the bunker or possibly and this may be a reach, but could they be hardening the White House against an EMP strike?

its clearly a mote for when the uprising starts.

my guess, it'll be filled with sharks wielding lasers.

I've worked on hvac systems before. The are generally located on top of commercial buildings or at ground level, depending on the type of delivery system used. Below ground would never work.

Even if they were installing a geothermal heat pump system for a building the size of whiskey hotel wouldn't require anything larger than a cargo van.

Electrical conduits could be supplied in a 4x4 food trench mind you they would probably be encased in concrete or be buried deep.

Either way a hole this massive??? No way. I've seen big commercial buildings that didn't require something like this. A hole like this is for tunnelling or for foundations.

Large concrete slabs??? For hvac and electrical?? Really?? Lol

I noticed something else in the story that struck me odd.

A larger operations center would reduce the need for emergency evacuations to shadow government locations like Mount Weather in Bluemont, Va., and would help ensure “continuity of government,”

Washington would be one of the targets for a missle strike, why would you want to keep everyone there? It would be even more of a target now.
and:

Despite the size of the hole, the controlled silence of the construction workers and the fact that funds were allocated after Sept. 11, 2001,

The funds were already set aside in 01, but are starting work on it now?

Could be refurbishing some of the underground facilities.

Maybe the command center or something.

reply to post by predator0187

I would say some form of bunker as well.. No way they would dig that deep for air conditioning and electronic system and neither would it take 17 months+.

Im wondering about this "Doug Mills/The New York Times" being able to take that picture.. I would love to see more pictures he took. perhaps a picture shoot down in that hole just infront of him

Whatever it is, they are spending Americans hard worked money and they won't ever say why...
What else is new?

reply to post by showintail


Not sure if anyone has answered you yet. I happen to be a plumbing/HVAC guy. You are correct AC units draw air from the outside over the fins and pump cool air inside. This project on the white house lawn is no way plumbing or AC related. The hole is far deeper than main lines for plumbing, ac units wont work underground... My money is on a bunker of some sorts. Isnt there already a bunker under the white house? Maby it's a missle silo where obama will house his escape pod like peter from family guy...

What part of HVAC repair/replacement involves HUUGE blocks of concrete??

sounds like alot of concrete, and did the article say several stories down?

well the concrete is either to keep something safe from whatever may happen above ground, or to keep something underground secret like massive electrical systems from spying technology

I think its either a bunker/ hi-tech storage facility or a escape shuttle/ missile silo defense system

with how fast today's technology is both computer and aircraft, I could see the need for instant action/reaction for whatever could be headed toward our way

Maybe it's a tunnel that leads out of the city.