Huge concrete pour for new Comcast skyscraper [photos]

Starting in the early morning hours, contractors poured truckloads of concrete Saturday to build a 10-foot-thick foundation mat for Comcast’s new skyscraper.

Officials say it was one of the largest concrete pours in Philadelphia history.

The mat will attach the building’s core to bedrock.

The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, at 18th and Arch streets, will be the city’s tallest skyscraper, at 1,121 feet. The Comcast Center next door, which opened in 2008, stands 975 feet tall.

Concrete contractor B. Pietrini & Sons, of King of Prussia, says 50 concrete trucks made 400 deliveries.

Company president Fran Pietrini tells The Philadelphia Inquirer it’s “a dream job” that, despite the size, could be done in less than 12 hours.