Capital Wheel

The Capital Wheel is a Ferris wheel at National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, D. C., in the United States. It opened on May 23, 2014.The wheel was conceived by National Harbor developer Milton Peterson and inspired by the Roue de Paris. Built by Chance Rides of Wichita, Kansas, it has an overall height of 180ft and sits on a 770ft pier extending into the adjacent Potomac River, easily visible to passengers on flights to or from National Airport. The 165ft diameter wheel carries 42 climate-controlled passenger gondolas, each able to seat eight people, including a VIP gondola that can be rented for weddings or celebrations. The wheel has programmable special-effects lighting and seasonal concessions at the base of the ride from the Wolfgang Puck restaurant chain.The entire structure is 175 (52.6 m) feet tall.Design and constructionThe Capital Wheel arrived at National Harbor by two of Cianbro's barges on February 18, 2014, pushed by a tugboat from Baltimore to National Harbor via the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River. Smith's Shipyard provided the 1,300 horsepower tug, named The Rising Sun and measuring 60 feet long by 22 feet wide (18.3m by 6.7m). Flexifloat made the two barges that Cianbro used to transport The Capital Wheel, one for the materials, measuring 50 feet (15.2m) wide by 140 feet (42.7m) long by 7 feet (2.1m) deep, and one for the crane that lifted the components from the barge to the pier, measuring 60 feet (18m) wide by 120 feet (35.6m) long by 7 feet (2.1m) deep. Cianbro's Manitowoc 4100 Series 2 crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 460,000 pounds.