New Tower. In the two weeks since the last newsletter the tower has continued to grow rapidly. Flatbed truckloads of bubble-deck arrive on a regular basis, columns are being poured and extended above the second-floor level, shoring is being constructed to support concrete for the second floor, and rebar/bubble-deck assemblies are being installed. This week we expect the rest of the second floor to be poured and in a couple weeks the fourth-floor concrete should begin to be poured. Backfilling of gravel around the sub-basement and basement walls is now complete around the entire site, allowing heavy equipment to operate in areas that were off-limits previously.
Chemistry Learning Center. The new CLC facility is roughly on schedule for the planned move-in date next summer. Demolition is nearly complete except for removal of two fume hoods and cleaning up after removal of a wall. Framing is in place for most of the walls in the main office and student study areas. Walking through the construction area now gives one a good idea of how the walls will divide the space.
Daniels First Floor. The north end of the Daniels first floor now has a new heating system and the temporary heater has been removed. Air infiltrations from outdoors have been blocked with caulk and this area has been appropriately warm through the recent cold weather.
Daniels and Tower Sub-Basements. More electrical equipment is being installed in the Daniels sub-basement and cables for electric power are being snaked through conduits from the east side of Daniels to the west side of the tower sub-basement. The cables are about one inch in diameter and consist of multiple aluminum conductors. Several thousand pounds of force is required at the tower end to pull each cable through the conduit.
Street Closures. North Mills Street is closed between Conklin Court (the alley) and University Avenue for the next six months and traffic is one-way north from Johnson Street to Conklin Court. Also, on December 11-13 Mills will be closed between Conklin Court and Johnson Street for installation of a luffer on the crane in Mills Street.
Loading Dock. There are no scheduled loading-dock closures this week. There may be brief closures at unpredictable times.
This information is up to date as of Friday afternoon. Email bulletins will be provided as needed.
John Moore and Bob McMahon