Reconfiguration of piping for natural gas service may cause a brief interruption of natural gas service in the Daniels wing sometime Monday morning. Because we use very little piped natural gas these days, this is not likely to cause significant issues, and it is not expected to affect natural gas service in Shain or Mathews wings.
The loading-dock area will less busy this week but there will still be times when access is blocked. Steel reinforcing bars will be delivered early Monday and Wednesday mornings, but the dock should be open after 8 am both of those days and available, albeit often congested, the rest of the time until Friday (see Charter Street below). Be very careful and watch out for traffic in the loading dock area; don’t use the loading dock driveway unless you absolutely need to.
Concrete was poured for two large pads in the excavation using a concrete pump truck that looked brand new—we are not sure whether it was purchased specifically for our project or not. The pours were on Monday and Friday. Excavation continued last week: a steady stream of trucks entered the site near the corner of Mills and Johnson Streets, drove north toward University Avenue, and then backed partway into the excavation. There they were loaded by three backhoes working simultaneously to move earth into the trucks. On the Mills Street side of the building the north area well remains open to allow traffic into and out of the Daniels sub-basement, where there is much activity.
A Bobcat has joined the excavator in the sub-basement of Daniels. Installation of electrical and communications ducts is proceeding according to plan, but there is a drain tile that needs to be unblocked and rerouted, which will involve more digging. All drums of mercury waste were removed from the sub-basement last week, so hazardous waste abatement is now complete except for what will be needed during the Daniels renovation phase, which is slated to begin early in 2021.
Charter Street work is in full swing since the spring thaw. Preparations have been made for pouring concrete sidewalks and curbs, which is planned for this week. Tentative plans also call for pouring the concrete apron of the driveway to the loading dock (along Charter Street) on Friday, April 19th. This means that the loading dock will be blocked on Friday and reopened on Monday. The southbound lane of Charter Street might even be repaved with asphalt this week, depending on weather and availability of asphalt (asphalt plants close during cold weather and have not yet re-opened). And soon, we hope, Charter Street will be fully repaved and open between University Avenue and Johnson Street.
Dayton Street is now closed completely between Charter and Brooks Streets and open only to local traffic between Brooks and Park Streets. This is causing traffic to back up on Charter Street south of Johnson Street because all Dayton-Street traffic must detour via Johnson Street. More information about the Dayton Street closure is available at https://go.wisc.edu/2o2u39.
This information is up-to-date as of Friday afternoon. Email bulletins will be provided as needed.
John Moore and Bob McMahon