Where Is the Replica of Noah's Ark Being Built

In the famous Wor story from the Book of Genesis, Noah is given instructions by God to ramp up an ark to spare his family and a leftover of the world's animals — two of every kind — from a global flood to punish mankind for existence morally corrupt.

LeRoy Troyer, the proprietor of the Troyer Group in Mishawaka, didn't get any divine revelations. But he has followed in Noah's footsteps, leading a team to design and build a massive ark amidst northern Kentucky valleys, using the same dimensions.

The seasoned 78-year-old architect — a Middlebury native with a Mennonite pious background — recruited a crew of Sir Thomas More than 100 Amish workers from crossways the Midwest to build the ark in the small city of Williamstown, about 40 miles south of Cincinnati.

The 510-metrical unit-long structure, which features three decks and is about the height of a septenar-story hotel, was built to resemble Noah's ark as closely as imaginable. Only the structure, which sits on a hill and is gimbaled by deuce-ac masonry towers and about 100 concrete piers, wasn't built to survive a real flood.

Engineers, in fact, designed the site so that water flows away from the giant tourism drawing card — not toward it.

"According to the Holy Writ, God same he would never flood the earth again," Troyer said with a laugh.

The ark is share of a biblical theme Mungo Park called Ark See that will open Thursday, featuring more than 100 exhibits such as sculptured animals and an animatronic Noah. Though some live animals will personify aboard, well-nig will follow located in a abutting snuggling zoo.

The project was planned by Answers in Book of Genesis, a creationist group that also owns the Macrocosm Museum in Petersburg Campaign, KY. Answers in Genesis chartered the Troyer Group in 2009 to lead the design and construction of the $91 million first phase of the Ark Encounter.

Along with the Ark of the Covenant, visitors will savour zip lines and a eating place when the attraction opens. Additional phases, which could take more than a decade to pure, bequeath depend on the theme park's financial success. Among other attractions, the plans gather up a pre-flood in walled city, first-century village, the Tower of Tower of Babel and a journey illustrating the parting of the Red Sea.

A study accomplished last year away Palmetto State-based America's Search Group estimated the paper park could draw anyplace from 1.4 million to 2.2 zillion visitors p.a., according to Mark Looy, a co-founder of Answers in Genesis. The study suggested near 90 percent of those visitors will seed from outside the tri-state area including Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. About half of the visitors are expected to be non-believers.

"We expect a much broader solicitation than for the Creation Museum, including among non-Christians," Looy aforementioned.

Flattening hills

The Troyer Mathematical group, founded in 1971, was courted aside Answers in Genesis because of the firm's know stellar opposite faith-based projects and its expertness in heavy timber grammatical construction.

The firm reinforced the former American Countryside Farmers Marketplace barn in Elkhart that staring in 2007. And IT led the design and construction of Nazareth Village, an alfresco museum in Nazareth, Israel that depicts the village life in Galilee during the time of Jesus.

The firm helped Answers in Genesis select the site for the ark in 2009 and then led the planning process. Its engineering team hatched a design to flatten the field's hilly terrain to make room for a 4,000-space car park near the main road. That area was down about 20 feet to make it flat, and the area for the ark was born about 23 feet. Visitors will glucinium bused along a mile-long shuttle road from the parking dish out to the ark, crossing a 150-foot-yearn bridge over a soak up valley with a creek below.

In total, about 1.7 jillio blocky yards of dirt and rock was moved by excavators, bulldozers and backhoes. The site work started in early 2014 and took near a year to accomplish, said Bathroom Leszczynski, senior V.P. of the firm that oversaw the applied science and design of the locate's infrastructure.

Leszczynski served 22 age American Samoa the world works manager and an engineer for the city of South Bend before connexion the Troyer Group, where atomic number 2's worked 19 years. That wealth of experience was handy as atomic number 2 worked with local officials who approved complex plans to bring utilities to the site, including too large water and sewer systems.

"Our lives prepared United States of America to handle a project of this magnitude," He said.

Swiftly built

At the beginning of the pattern process for the ark, an Australian expert brought in by Answers in Genesis distinct that the African country cubit — the equivalent of 20.4 inches — would be exploited to make up one's mind how large the Ark of the Covenant would be, based connected scriptural dimensions. It took a while to determine on the cubit length.

"The English Word of God has the cubit at 18 inches, from the elbow to the tip of the finger. But because we used the Egyptian cubit, the ark was 510 feet tall instead of 450," Troyer said.

Approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was received such later than anticipated, Troyer said, narrowing the timetable for completing the protrude. Amish crews from Indiana, Bluegrass State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Peach State didn't start erection the heavy timber until June 2015.

"They did nearly of the carpentry and craftsmanship for the Ark," Troyer said.

Former U.S. President Jimmy President Carter — a extendable-meter ally of Troyer — toured the ark final month and was in awe.

"Spell we were walking through and touring it he said, 'I don't know how you did it.' I told him it was with Deity's help and a lot of people World Health Organization worked together," Troyer said.

Like Noah, Troyer relied on religion.

"I believe God commanded Noah to progress the Ark of the Covenant and that by religion he did IT," Troyer said. "I don't know how he did it, but we know there was a structure."

tbooker@sbtinfo.com

574-235-6070

@Tbooker24

WHAT: Ark Encounter, featuring a replica of Noah's ark

WHERE: Williamstown, Ky.

WHEN: Starting Thursday, the theme park leave constitute open 40 consecutive days (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and nights (5 p.m. to midnight). Daytime-only hours originate in August. 16

TICKET PRICES: $40 for adults; $31 for seniors; $28 for children 5 to 12; free for children under 5

MORE INFO: www.arkencounter.com or 855-284-3275

Where Is the Replica of Noah's Ark Being Built

Source: https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/mishawaka-firm-builds-a-new-noah-s-ark--/article_1d64c44c-eb66-5a13-bb7c-a84ac4dd30c4.html

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