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SALT LAKE CITY — At the corner of Thunderbird Drive and Scenic Drive, a giant steel spider now keeps several eyes on the roadway, sometimes distracting drivers passing by.
"I think I've almost caused a few accidents," Michael Green giggled. "Much the the chagrin of my neighbors, I think it was an opportunity to play with fire."
Green spent the past two years working on the lawn fixture, building it in his garage whenever he had the chance. He added a propane tank and a horn as a finishing touch. Both made with spare pipes and bicycle hand-brake levers and are controlled by a remote.
"My wife was not really excited about it," Green said. "She ended up giving up her side of the garage in the winter while I was working on it."
Green said the project started when he spotted what is now the large back end of the body at a scrapyard. He says he knew it would be a spider, he just didn't know how large it would become.
"Pretty soon it just turned into a massive project," Green said.
The steel spider weighs well over 2,000 pounds. Green said he used an engine hoist to haul the body onto his front lawn then later attached the legs. He plans to leave it on display through Thanksgiving. He said watching the reactions of neighborhood kids and family members have made it all worthwhile.
"It makes me happy that they can have a little bit of fun and come down and see it," Green said.
Click the video above to hear more from Green and to see the fire-breathing spider in action.
