Construction Junction

Construction Planning and Progress Meeting
147 Communication Arts and Sciences
June 9, 2011

Overview:
Construction Junctions are the Physical Plant’s monthly public meeting designed to update/inform the public of various projects currently in design, nearing construction and under construction. Agenda items included:

• Amr Abdel-Azim
  • Shaw Hall Dining Center
• Erin Bowdell
  • Shaw Lane Power Plant Smokestack Demolition
• Ken Gottschalk
  • Cherry Lane/Faculty Bricks Apartments Demolition
• Ron Lacasse
  • Harrison Road Reconstruction (City of East Lansing)
• Todd Wilson
  • Library – Chiller Replacement
• Ken Dawson
  • Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research (Life Sciences Addition)
  • Bailey and Rather Hall Renovations
• Andy Linebaugh
  • Brody Complex Utility Infrastructure Improvements
  • Brody Hall Sculpture Installation
  • New Steam Service to Spartan Stadium and Central Services
• Tony Rhodes
  • Wells Hall Addition
  • Case Hall Renovations
• Chris Thronson
  • Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum
  • Plant Science Expansion
• Sharon Joy
  • Cyclotron Office Addition and High-Bay Addition

 

Shaw Hall Dining Center

• This project is part of the comprehensive plan by Residential and Hospitality Services (RHS) to fit all of the dining needs on campus. The idea is that campus is split into neighborhoods. Shaw is right in the center of campus, the perfect spot for easy access from many academic buildings.
• The current building is from the ‘60s made out of brick and punched windows, and nice landscaping. There is currently one long, wide-open dining room with a couple of food stations.
• This project is implemented using the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) system, which is a contracted system that encourages early involvement. Contractors and clients work together very early in the process, bringing all parties together.
• Currently, the cafeteria seats 510. The goal is to seat 600. There are two potential floor plans: two separate cluster venues or separate restaurants
• There will still be west and east entrance with a dining room in middle the center and an open kitchen so people can see the cooks cooking. It will be a different atmosphere.
• In September, plans will go to the Board of Trustees. Construction would start in May 2012 and continue through Dec. 14, 2012. The project has a $7 million budget.

Q: Was student opinion taken into account when making these plans?
A:  Yes, students were involved in the review. There was a current survey about what the building needs from students and other users of the space.

Q: Where will the residents of Shaw Hall go to eat during the renovation?
A: Students can eat at Snyder-Phillips or another nearby hall.

Shaw Lane Power Plant Smokestack Demolition

• The smokestack is located near the intersection of Red Cedar and Shaw Lane, west of Wells Hall.
• The stack was 245 feet tall when demolition started.
• The workers have worked through month of June using three-day weekends to avoid clashing with other nearby projects.
• The process involved a moving scaffold system held up with tension cables. The workers are knocking  bricks into the stack for safety, then moving the scaffold with every 5 feet of demolition.
• Aug. 19 is the completion date.
• Currently, the “M” is gone, which was made of glazed blocks. Breaching is also removed.
• The crew is attempting to save and salvage some of the glazed block. It will also try to salvage some of the red brick.

Q:  What is the difference between the brick and block?
A: Glazed block is covered with a thin layer of glazing. These blocks are not in best condition. Many of them are stained of have stress fractures, which is why the crew is attempting to salvage them, but it might prove difficult. 

Cherry Lane/Faculty Bricks Apartments Demolition

• Construction officially starts in July 2011.
• The northern part of the area is the Faculty Bricks Apartments. The southern part is Cherry Lane.
• The demolition will be complete in November 2011 with site restoration stretching through fall and spring of next year.
• Construction trucks will only drive a certain route into the site. No construction activity will occur on Wilson Road or onto campus.
• The public should be aware that there will be no construction traffic leaving the site during rush hour Monday through Friday as well as football Saturdays.
• Only selected trees, the ones that were diseased and approved by campus arborists, were removed in the demolition process.
• Asbestos abatement is underway in the buildings that are already evacuated. Windows had to be removed by the abatement contractor because the caulk contained asbestos.
• Some buildings are still occupied, but the residents are moving out soon.
• A minimum of 75 percent of construction materials will be recycled, but the company goal is an even higher 90 percent. Name plates and numbers are being saved.
• Power will be killed on Friday, June 24.
• Detour maps will be available online for July and August.

Q: Will the laundry building still be there?
A: No. AAL is coming to remove their machines.

Q: Will any of the material be put toward other projects?
A: Yes. Some of it will, such as the roof insulation that was added less than five years ago. Mechanical equipment and telecommunications equipment will be reused, too.

Harrison Road Reconstruction (City of East Lansing)

• The project is slated to wrap up by the end of this year.
• Last year, the city reconstructed from Kalamazoo to Shaw. This year will be Shaw to Trowbridge. Next year will be Trowbridge to Mount Hope.
• Some temporary drives will be built June 13 and 14 and the road will actually close June 15.
• The driving detour around the project will be Trowbridge Road to Red Cedar Road to Shaw Lane.
• Trowbridge will be difficult to close because the traffic lights are linked to railroads. Will take an hour to two hours to re-time the signal if things go well, but could take longer. Commuters should try to avoid the area on June 15.
• The project should be finished by Aug. 20. There will be a new water main from Marigold Avenue to Trowbridge Road.
• Access will be given to churches and the Islamic center in that stretch through the nearby neighborhoods. Drivers should slow their speeds and watch out for speed bumps.
• The railroad will also be closed just south of Trowbridge.

Library Chiller Replacement

• This is a primary just-in-time (deferred maintenance) project slated to begin in July 2011.
• There are two primary coolers in the building.
• Upgrades are needed because of higher demand from technology changes and additional computing as well as Sparty’s and the addition of the music building. On top of all that, the machines are deteriorating
• Most of it will be mechanical work behind-the-scenes.
• South plaza will also be reconstructed as a barrier- free entrance to the public. Coming from the stadium, there will be a slope all the way to the entrance. This will provide easier bike access as well. There will be a speed table for pedestrian access.
• During construction time, all access to the building will be through the north entrance. Workers will install a temporary barrier-free ramp to the north entrance as well as more bike racks in front. All pedestrian areas will stay intact.
• The tier will be more of a seating area with benches.
• Regarding parking, the current barrier-free parking on the south side of the building will be blocked, so several temporary barrier-free spots will be created on the east side of the building. Also, there will be fencing around eight spots to the east of the building for steam tunnel work.
• The project is expected to last 12 months, from July 2011 to July 2012.

Q: Will you be replacing the automatic doors at the south part of the entrance?
A: Yes, the doors will be replaced, but the new ones will still be automatic.  

Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research (Life Science Addition)

• Funded with a federal grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), the building will be the first on campus to be heated and cooled by geothermal field.
• Pedestrian and vehicular traffic will be re-routed. During the first part of the process, walkers will be able to access sidewalks around the building and enter through west entrance. The north entrance will be closed.
• Another notable item is the bay separator. It takes storm water, drops sediment and re-routes water to the river. It is part of the storm management system on campus.
• 25-foot catch basins will take up northbound Bogue. Traffic will be re-routed through a service drive.
• Later, crews will re-route southbound Bogue. The parallel parking there will be lost.
• Utilities will come across Service Road and block it. The crew will add a temporary driveway. Some leased spaces will be lost.
• In spring 2012 there will be some site work. Sidewalks on the west will be closed. Pedestrians will have to enter at the east.
• Currently, crews have started to dig. The north entrance has been closed.

Brody Complex Utility Infrastructure Improvements

• The majority of work is going on at the corner of Harrison and Kalamazoo, but it’s for the Brody Complex.
• Some ducts will be brought across the road. The steam tunnel that runs along Kalamazoo is being rehabilitated. The stream vault will be expanded.
• There is a lane closure on the south side of Kalamazoo. In July, there will be another lane closure near the cross walk on the north part of Kalamazoo to replace the crosswalk.

Brody Complex Utility Improvements

• A tension-cable piece of artwork called “Filament” was recently installed in the main lobby of Brody. It is made of stained-glass filaments attached to cables. Light comes through the windows and illuminates them.
• Carpenters and artists from Oregon came into install it. They worked with the lighting programmers to showcase the artwork. It is visible from the road outside the building.
• Ed Carpenter is the artist. The Brody artwork is featured on his website.

Bailey and Rather Hall Renovations

• The first step is to abate all hazardous materials such as asbestos. Then, the action can move to demolition.
• The crew will be fending in the road and parking lot by Rather Hall and Butterfield Hall. There won’t be any through traffic. Any traffic that enters will have to exit on Michigan Avenue.

New Steam Service to Spartan Stadium and Central Services

• There is some temporary steam in place right now. The crew is currently working on the tie from the Stadium to Central Services.
• The crew’s big push is the upcoming U2 concert on June 26. The plan is to have pulled the fences south of the driveway between Lot 79 and Red Cedar Road.
• Red Cedar Road is open again.

Wells Hall Addition

• The first component is The B-wing auditoriums. The crew turns over the existing auditoriums on Aug. 25. Classes will resume in the big one. The second component, the rest of the building, will be turned over in May 2012.
• Most of all the framing for the exterior skin on the Red Cedar side is installed. The skin of the building is starting to go up.
• The project is using a type of glass that can bear weather for six to eight months before it deteriorates. That gives the crew plenty of time to cover it with brick.
• The coffee shop in the hall will be a Starbucks. There will be an RHS representative at the next Construction Junction to talk about it.
• The corner of the building will be stone, not brick. All of the indoor corridors are polished concrete, which came out looking really nice.
• The team is starting to lay down the inverted roof. Duct work and plumbing work is continuing inside. The crew is making progress on the second floor.
• There has been lots of coordination with Erin Bowdell and Andy Linebaugh, with the smokestack demolition and the utilities renovation happening nearby. The three teams have good cooperation.

Case Hall Renovations

• There will be two phases: the crew will turn over the resident wings for students this fall on Aug. 9, 2011, then turn over dining facility in January 2012.
• The new dining area will have 650 seats with improvements to the north and south lobbies. The dining facility will have seven dining areas as well as a lounge area.
• Each student room gets a new shower enclosure.
• The crew is installing fire suppression systems and alarms through all wings and the basement. The HVAC units will also be new in some areas.
• During the demolition the crew will save pumps and other things they could use in other projects.
• All of the brick columns in the solarium will be demolished. Currently, the solarium is removed, and the new building will extend over this area. The glass was removed with a machine with three large suction cups. The 40 tons of glass will be recycled in concrete experiments at MSU. Aluminum was also recycled.

Q: I heard there will be work on the water main. When will the water be cut off?
A: The water will be shut off to Case and the Daugherty building from midnight on June 14 to 6 a.m.

Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum

• Some tweaking has been done to the structural steel and it is substantially complete.
• Some of the angles are spectacular. The building itself a piece of art.
• Basement activity includes installation of mechanical and electrical utilities.
• The week of June 20, the crew will start installing the exterior skin of building. It will transform the look even more.
• East Circle Drive is scheduled to open on Aug. 19.
• Due to work on the communication duct bank on the east side of the building, the sidewalk on Farm Lane is closed. Signs will come to route pedestrian traffic.

Q: Will there still be handicapped parking spaces?
A: There are six handicapped spaces on the north side of the Student Services Building. The entrance to the east side of Student Services will be closed on Monday, June 13 for just a few days.

Plant Science Expansion

• The “Really Cool” Virtual Tour of Plant Science is available on the Physical Plant’s YouTube site.

Cyclotron Office Addition and High-Bay Addition

• The four-story office addition will have a seminar room.
• Three bridges will connect the addition to Phase 2 on the second, third, and fourth floors. The hope is to add another addition in the future to house 140 people.
• The high bay is a lab addition.