Why is there a hole in El Toro?

[29yrswithaGApass]

Does anyone know why there is a huge gap in the wooden structure of El Toro? Originally I thought it may have been for maneuvering a crane during initial construction, but I am not sure if that is the case.

 

 

[The Master]

Probably to minimize weight of El Toro's structure over the free span.

[gafreak]

it could be because of the apex of that hill doesnt have any downward forces, you are experincing neg g force at that point so the bracing is only to keep the track from beeing pulled upward, not for actuall suport of the train, my GF is a math major and ill ask her, im sure it has something math related

[Great Adventurer]

I think it's a combination of what's been said already. It seems very likely that they wanted to allow the crane to move freely during the construction phase. With that being said, as gafreak mentioned, there are mostly upward forces acting on the train at the top of the hill where the hole is. Considering what I've learned with physics, I'd say that after leaving that space blank for the crane they decided it was unnecessary to fill it in, since the structure was (and still is) in no danger of collapse as there is no significant pressure exerted in a downward direction at that particular point. I assume they would have liked to have at least a small gap even if this weren't the case to allow guests to access the bridge to Bizarro (the extra space in the hole also allows for more room to set up the tarp to catch objects dropped during the ride).