Construction Update: January 5, 2012

Neither the holidays nor frigid weather can get in the way of our building projects! Even while we were on vacation, there was progress at all the sites.

Going Going Gone
Already a milestone has been achieved at the Gateway/Ingenuity site. All demolition to the existing Truax building is now finished with the razing of a stairwell and west façade wall. An access road is being installed for heavy equipment to move in and out of the site and mass excavation continues for the Ingenuity Center.

Movin’ on Up
Trivia: How many truck loads of concrete does it take to pour a floor at the Health Education Center? Thirty! In fact, it took more than 30 concrete mixer trucks hauling in a whopping 18,000 square feet of concrete to lay a partial 2nd story floor there. 

Concrete in the Cold
Speaking of concrete, our Wisconsin winter is making the foundation work more challenging. When concrete is pumped out of the mixing truck it should be about 65 degrees. In order to make that happen, the concrete has to be warmed to a toasty 75 degrees at the plant before it’s transported to campus. That extra 10 degrees accommodates the heat loss between here and the Sun Prairie plant where the concrete is manufactured. Once poured, the concrete needs to cure about 3 hours before it’s stable enough for the trowel machines to smooth it out. After the concrete is finished, warming blankets are laid over the new foundation for an extra layer of cold weather protection.

Blankets aren’t the only way work crews are protecting the construction sites. A big chunk of Health Education is being wrapped in winter wear — crews are installing temporary wall panels around the building for the duration of cold weather season.

Protective Services
It sort of looks like a castle turret right now, but an elevator shaft is taking shape at the site of the Protective Services building. Also going up this week is massive scaffolding in preparation to build the exterior block wall for the high bay garage there.

Walkway Change
Did you notice the change to the walking commute from the student/visitor parking lot up to Truax?  A new utility line was installed over break prompting the need to cordon off the student walkway and move pedestrians to the Anderson Street sidewalk. The change is temporary and pedestrian patterns will be back to “construction normal” in just a few more days – before Convocation.

An End of the Year Beginning
Here’s the best way to end a year — with a beginning! Construction officially began at the Fort Atkinson campus on December 28. The project includes an expansion and renovation and will be completed in the summer.

Look for continued construction updates in Matters!