New Tower. The new tower is rising rapidly. The sequence of photos below, which starts about a month ago, show the rapid rise of the stairwell that will serve the west side of the new tower. From a concrete slab at the bottom of the excavation the stairwell has risen to from sub-basement to basement to ground level.
The ramp to the bottom of the excavation had been completely removed as of Friday afternoon. This makes way for more walls to be poured on the Mills Street side of the excavation. Rain last week slowed progress in this area and on Friday workers were still pumping water out of the excavation.
There has been great progress on pouring walls in the sub-basement and basement areas, which are beginning to look like a building that can house lecture rooms and the chemistry demonstration lab.
Mills Street and University Avenue. Three large trusses, similar to the two already installed above our new 360-seat lecture room, are needed above the 250-seat lecture room to support the eight floors above that lecture room. These trusses will be installed the weekend of June 28 through July 1. Because the ramp into the excavation is now gone, installing the trusses will involve locating the large mobile crane in University Avenue, reducing traffic to two lanes. Trucks delivering trusses will use Mills Street between University Avenue and Conklin Place. Thus, for the weekend of June 28 through July 1, Mills Street will be closed and traffic will be reduced to two lanes in University Avenue.
Charter Street. Charter Street is now open for two lanes of southbound traffic and one lane of northbound traffic between University Avenue and Johnson Street. The northbound lane closest to Shain tower will remain closed because it is a staging area for Miron Construction. Charter Street is now re-opened between Johnson and Dayton Streets, but Mills Street is closed to northbound traffic at Dayton Street as a result of the Dayton Street steam tunnel project. Traffic around our building can change unpredictably on a weekly—even daily—basis so be careful when walking, biking, or driving in the area.
Loading Dock. There will be a major loading-dock closure this week, probably Wednesday, but the exact date depends on the weather. The cause is backfilling of gravel around the new walls in the tower sub-basement and basement. There may be other short interruptions at unpredictable times.
This information is up to date as of Friday afternoon. Email bulletins will be provided as needed.
John Moore