Campus Construction Update for March 16

These are among the construction activities scheduled March 16-29 at the University of Wyoming:

The UW Facilities Planning Office reports the following activities for the week:

Arena-Auditorium Renovations (General contractor Haselden Constructors, Casper; scheduled completion fall 2014) -- The Arena-Auditorium renovations started March 10. Due to the renovations taking place, the A-A will be closed to the public for all recreational purposes. The project is anticipated to be complete by Oct.1. The bus stop located at the Willett West entry to the arena will be relocated to the east side between the A-A and the Rochelle Athletic Center. The project will involve replacing the existing floor. The floor will be raised 18 inches and rotated to accommodate practice courts on either side of the competition floor. To accomplish this, the majority of the existing retaining walls will be removed and relocated farther back from the floor. The existing lower-bowl seating will be replaced with wider cushioned seating, including integrated cup holders. Telescopic seating will be installed from row 12 to the floor. This seating will be retracted to expose the new practice floor during non-event practice times.

Two new video boards, positioned on each end of the arena, will replace the existing video board. Video boards also will be installed on the front of the scorer’s tables on either side of the floor. New LED competition court lighting will be installed to replace the existing system. The existing audio system also will be replaced. On the subconcourse level, the existing locker rooms, sports medicine room and conditioning room will be renovated. A new video production room will be created in the North Fieldhouse from which both stadium and arena events will be broadcast. Current construction activity consists of placing temporary barriers, walls, doors and dust-control systems. The existing seating in the lower bowl and the competition floor are being removed. On the lower level, the locker rooms are being stripped of furniture and finishes in preparation for demolition of walls and floors.

Grand Avenue Reconstruction (Wyoming Department of Transportation) -- Monday, March 17, Grand Avenue will be closed from 21st to 17th streets to both pedestrians and vehicles. Also March 17, the 17th Street parking lot will be partially closed. When work reaches 17th Street, Grand will be closed to 15th Street. The contractor will install temporary water connections at the south side of Crane and Hill halls. Please use caution near heavy equipment and excavations in the area. Parking is prohibited in the residents’ parking lot west of Hill Hall and south of Orr Hall. This will become a delivery truck route while the 19th Street access from Grand Avenue is closed. Please be aware of “No Parking” and “Detour” signs and barricades in the area. UW Transit and Parking Services will reroute both the Classroom Express and the Gem City Grand from the stops on King Street and Grand Avenue to north of the Information Technology building along Sorority Row. For more information about residence hall access, pedestrian access and other activities affected by the project, click here.

Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts (General contractor Sampson Construction, Cheyenne; Fine Arts Building renovation and expansion; scheduled completion December 2014) -- Additional project information is available here. The parking lot on the east side of the UW Performing Arts Center is closed and is being used for construction staging. It will be converted into a green area following construction. Building visitors should use the parking lot on the north side of the building. Those entering the Performing Arts Center must now enter through the doors on the building’s west side. This will be the entrance for all building operations, including classes, ticket purchases and performances, until construction is complete.

Water will be shut down Monday, March 17, and Thursday, March 20, from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Beta House and Performing Arts Center for valve tie-ins.

Part of the west sidewalk along the north end is closed to pedestrians for the next two months during the exaction and installation of an electrical equipment screened wall.

Footing excavation, rebar placement and pouring continue, along with foundation walls. Grade beam exaction and forming is complete. Backfill on the north is complete and continues on the east side. Steel erection is ongoing on the south side and middle area of addition. Exterior framing and sheathing installation have begun on the north. Concrete slabs on grade and on metal decking are ongoing on the north side of the building. Work on the existing practice rooms, one quad at a time, is ongoing. Heavy truck traffic will be frequent near War Memorial Fieldhouse, 22nd Street and Willett Drive, and along the road west of the College of Law Building.

Biological Sciences Building Mechanical Modifications (General Contractor Independent Heating and Sheet Metal, Laramie) -- Interior work is complete along with the corridor heating unit modifications. Control wiring and programming continue. Testing and balancing of the air systems is complete. Heating water balancing will continue intermittently through the next few weeks. Occupants may experience hot and/or cold areas in the building. Punch lists for the fifth floor will be complete this week. Commissioning work will continue for the entire facility through the end of March. A power shutdown is scheduled Thursday, March 20, from 6-8 a.m.  

ESCo Project (Long Energy Solutions, Casper) -- Wyoming State Vet Lab, air distribution and control work is ongoing -- running control wiring through corridor ceilings, replacing heating valves and installing exhaust variable volume boxes is 95 percent complete. Programming controllers will be ongoing.

Agriculture Buildings A, B and D Deconstruction (General contractor Grant Mackay Demolition Co., Bountiful, Utah; Lewis Street, between 12th and 13th streets) -- Deconstruction is complete. Four HC parking spaces are open in the alley, along with one “U” and two state/federal spaces. Additional “U” and state/federal spaces will be opened along the alley. The fire department access loop will be relocated along the west of the Education Building. Access to the alley along the north side of the Agriculture Building will remain open. This site will be used for construction storage for the Enzi STEM project and Half Acre Gymnasium addition and renovation. For their safety, pedestrians should make eye contact with equipment operators and delivery drivers outside the fenced area so they are aware of their presence. Portions of the site may be used for construction parking. The site will not be open for general parking.

Half Acre Gymnasium Addition and Renovation (General contractor Groathouse Construction Inc., Cody; scheduled completion of Phase 1, east reconstruction, fall 2014; Phase 2, historic west renovation, spring 2015) -- Full project information is available here. Construction progress can be observed via the project webcam here. Half Acre Gymnasium remains open and accessible via the west entrance. The day lot parking area and roadway immediately east of Half Acre Gymnasium is closed. Temporary day-use parking has been established in the lot east of the Wyoming Union.

Construction work for Phase 1, consisting of the reconstruction of the east portion of the existing building, continues this week. Construction and staging areas north, south and east of the existing building have been established and are closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic, except that which is construction related. Access to Prexy’s Pasture from the east Wyoming Union parking lot between Half Acre and the Wyoming Union is closed until further notice. Please use alternate routes through the Wyoming Union or between the Union and Coe Library. Temporary staging/construction areas also may be established, with limited notice, near the west entrance and along the pedestrian pathways north of Half Acre Gymnasium between Prexy’s Pasture and Willett Drive as required by the ongoing construction-related tasks.

Structural steel erection is progressing on the Phase 1 east reconstruction portion of the project. Steel erection will continue through early March, raising the building frame from south to north to its full three-story height. First-floor under slab and slab-on-grade construction, as well as decking and concrete placement of upper floors, will continue as weather and erection sequence allow.

Through March 23, construction to access and tap existing water and chilled water utilities will again involve portions of the pedestrian sidewalk between Half Acre Gymnasium and McWhinnie Hall. Temporary provisions will be in place to maintain pedestrian pathways around the area of excavation, including maintaining a route of accessibility. Willett Drive in the vicinity of Wyoming Hall may be congested by construction traffic during the utility work.

To accommodate new water service to the project, domestic water service will be interrupted Sunday, March 16, at 7 a.m. and be restored by 5 p.m. This will affect Half Acre Gymnasium, the Education Building, McWhinnie Hall, and the historic portions of Agriculture and Engineering buildings. To accommodate new chilled water utilities for the project, campus chilled water service will be interrupted by mid-day Monday, March 17, with restoration as early as possible Thursday, March 20. The service outage affects the entire campus.

Construction deliveries of over-length structural components will affect portions of 15th Street, Fraternity Row and the parking lot east of the Wyoming Union through March 17. Although the parking lot east of the Wyoming Union will remain open to use on a limited basis and transit service will continue normally, select areas of this lot will be closed to parking beginning at 5 a.m. Friday, March 14, and extending through 5 p.m. Monday, March 17, as necessitated by the ongoing construction activities.

“R” Permit parking on both the north and south sides of Fraternity Row in the 12 spaces immediately east of the 15th Street intersection will be prohibited through 7 a.m. Monday, March 17.

The portion of 15th Street between Ivinson Street on the south and Willett Drive on the north will be closed by UW police to all traffic except that necessary for construction between 5-7 a.m. Friday, March 14, and again Monday, March 17. Construction deliveries during that time may temporarily affect normal traffic flow at Harney Street and 15th Street between Willett Drive and Harney Street.

Education Annex -- Literacy Research Center and Clinic (General contractor Shepard Construction Inc., Rawlins; scheduled completion this March) -- Though interior construction is substantially complete, the lower (first) floor of the Education Annex remains closed for construction while exterior site improvements are completed. Access to the alleyway and portions of related parking east and south of the Agriculture Building will reopen the week of March 16. The pedestrian sidewalk and associated parking along Lewis Street in the Education Annex vicinity also will reopen the week of March 16. Please observe all posted traffic control and construction signage until site is reopened.

Education Annex Canopy (General contractor Elk Ridge Builders & Design LLC, Laramie; scheduled completion this March) -- Construction activities are nearly complete on the project between the east entrance of the Education Annex and the north entrance of the Education Building, as well as interior renovation of the corridor in the vicinity of the Education Dean’s Office. Normal access to the Education Building and Annex has been reopened. Vehicular access and parking -- north and east of the Education Building and the Ed Annex -- have reopened to normal traffic. Pedestrians and motorists should exercise caution in the area as minor remaining construction issues are addressed.

Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center (General contractor Haselden Constructors, Casper; 22nd and Grand; scheduled completion fall 2014) -- Glazing installation is complete, and the installation of the exterior mullions has begun. The mullions will start on the north elevation at the memorial concourse and proceed around the building clockwise. The interior stone work is complete within Legacy Hall, with the exception of a large column in the northeast corner of the space. The metal framing is being installed in Legacy Hall. In the north portion of the building, commercial kitchen equipment and a walk-in cooler are being installed. Fiber reinforced wall panels are being installed in the kitchen, prep room and down the corridors in the service areas. Tracks for the movable wall partitions have been installed in the ballroom. Wood backing for the installation of the wood trim and casework is being installed in the ballroom and the Presidential Suite. The stone for the three-story fireplace is nearing completion in the center of the building. In the first floor of the south wing, ceiling work is concluding. Drywall finish and base layers of paint are being applied at the second floor, south wing. Drywall finishing and painting activities have begun on the third floor, south wing. Additional project information is available here. Click here for updated images taken by the construction cam.

Enzi STEM Facility (General contractor AP Wyoming, Cheyenne; Lewis Street between 10th and 11th streets; scheduled completion May 2015) -- Lewis Street remains closed between 10th and 11th streets. Please note that this project is being managed and administered by the State Construction Office. Drilled pier and excavation work is ongoing. Placement of foundation wall forms, steel reinforcing and concrete is underway, and will continue into June. Steel erection is expected to start in early April. Concrete and reinforcing steel delivery will continue based on requirements to sustain the work in progress. Watch for construction traffic on Lewis, 10th, 11th and Bradley streets. For their safety, pedestrians should make eye contact with equipment operators and delivery drivers outside the fenced area so they are aware of their presence. There will be materials and equipment delivered to site, with resulting heavy truck traffic. Job trailers, storage containers, materials and equipment are on site. The fenced construction area and fenced storage yards along Lewis will be secured construction areas. The storage yard north of Lewis between 11th and 12th, and the storage yard south of Lewis between 12th and 13th, are fenced and slowly filling with materials and office trailers. Watch for materials being moved from storage to the job site. The width of 10th, 11th and Bradley streets around the Enzi STEM Facility site has been reduced to two-way traffic. Vehicles cannot park along 10th and 11th streets. Parking remains on the north of Bradley Street. Utilities will be done in conjunction with planned north campus utility work. For a webcam view, click here.

Golf Practice Facility (General contractor Spiegelberg Lumber and Building Co., Laramie; scheduled completion this March) -- Construction activities for the project continue in the vicinity of the Jacoby Golf Course clubhouse. Exterior masonry and finish work, interior finishes and building systems installation are underway. Site work will resume as weather and ground conditions allow. Please observe all posted traffic control and construction signage.

The UW Physical Plant has 294 projects in progress valued at more than $20 million. Following is a list of ongoing construction activities in areas of campus that may impact you. Please call the Service Desk at (307) 766-6225 with questions.

Snow Removal -- Physical Plant crews will remove snow as needed throughout the season. Watch for snow removal equipment, be careful and safe during snow events, and call the Service Desk, 766-6225, to report ice spots and problem areas.

Wyoming Hall (Big Horn Roofing, Laramie; scheduled completion May 2014) -- Replacement of all upper-level roof membranes will begin. Primary staging will be in the northwest inside corner of the building footprint. Energy efficiency will improve with the addition of tapered insulation crickets to direct drainage to roof drains. Please use caution near staging area and equipment.

Planetarium (Physical Sciences) (Contractor Arcon Inc., Laramie; scheduled completion April 2014) -- Construction work on the ramp leading to the planetarium will begin March 17 and continue through the end of March. Concrete delivery will impact the dock on the northwest side of the building. 

Fire Alarm Testing -- Fire alarm testing will resume the week of March 17 in Hoyt Hall, Indoor Tennis Complex, Office Annex and Wyoming Hall. Building contacts have been notified.

Cheyenne Family Practice (Reiman Corp. and Subsidiary, Cheyenne; scheduled completion July 2014) -- Work will begin March 24 on ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and general parking lot improvements. Please use caution near equipment and crews.

Tree Trimming -- Grounds Services will be trimming trees along the north side of Ivinson Street during the week of Spring Break. Please use caution near trimming crews and equipment.

Coe Library -- Work will begin on the installation of a door and wall in Room 510. Construction activities are scheduled to be complete by March 21. Please be aware of crews and activity in this area.

Physical Sciences/Pharmacy -- Air handlers in the buildings will be shut down March 19 for preventive maintenance. Building occupants will be notified of hours in which fume hoods will not be operational.

University Store Remodeling -- (General contractor Arcon Inc., Laramie; scheduled completion April 2014) -- Phase 1 of the remodeling in the lower level of the University Store in the Wyoming Union is underway. Customers are being directed to temporarily use the elevator to access this area while installation of flooring, painting and wall fixtures can be completed. These activities are anticipated to be done by March 17. Remodeling activities on the east half of the main level of the store will begin during the week of March 17. These activities are anticipated to include the removal of slat wall, dressing room and flooring materials. Please note that the store will be closed to walk-in traffic March 17-21 (Spring Break week) as remaining flooring on the main level is anticipated to be removed. Departmental orders during Spring Break week can be placed via phone (766-3222), email (uwyostore-supplies@uwyo.edu) or online at www.iteminfo.com, and will be delivered by store personnel. The store will resume standard operating hours (Mondays through Fridays, 7:30 a.m-5 p.m.) beginning Monday, March 24. Signs will be posted to direct patrons around construction operations. Please use caution in the area.

Campus Chilled Water -- Campus chilled water will be shut down beginning at 10 a.m. March 17 through mid-day March 20 to do tie-ins for the Half Acre project. Please make equipment adjustments as necessary if you are leaving for spring break.

Education, McWhinnie, Agriculture, Engineering, Half Acre -- Domestic water will be shut down beginning at 7 a.m. March 16 and will be restored by 5 p.m. that evening for tie-ins for the Half Acre project.

Engineering (Contractor Fremont Electric, Laramie) -- To finish the demolition of the Ag area to the east of the Engineering Building, an electrical shutdown is scheduled over Spring Break to change the electrical feed of the original Engineering Building and the Sawtooth addition. This will involve shutting down the Petroleum Wing (classrooms) for most of the day Wednesday, March 19, and possibly part of Thursday, March 20. Once this is complete, the original building will be shut down for a shorter period of time March 20. 

College of Business and Coe Library -- Crews will be replacing air filters above ceilings throughout the buildings the week of March 17. This activity could create some dust in certain areas.

Physical Sciences -- Crews will be replacing filters on unit ventilators in hallways the week of March 17. This activity could create some dust.

Prexy’s Pasture Project -- Work will be ongoing through the end of March near the main sidewalk south of the College of Agriculture Building to repair a broken steam condensate line. Please use caution near site fencing and heavy equipment.

War Memorial Fieldhouse (General contractor Haselden Construction, Casper; scheduled completion April 2014) -- Construction in locker rooms continues. Plumbing rough-ins will be completed this week. Four parking spaces between the fieldhouse and War Memorial Stadium will be used for staging.

General Storage Addition (General contractor Arcon Inc., Laramie; scheduled completion April 2014) -- Interior work will continue this week. The south side of the existing building is accessible from the west driveway. Shipping and Receiving operations will continue throughout construction. Please limit traffic on Gibbon Street between 15th and 19th streets to building users only. Always use caution around the construction site and construction vehicles, and observe all posted speed limits.

Centennial Complex (American Heritage Center and Art Museum, general contractors D&D Monarch Sheet Metal, Commerce City, Colo., and Big Horn Roofing, Laramie; scheduled completion May 2014) -- Roof replacements are complete, with the exception of archive storage areas. Use caution in work areas. Site reclamation and remaining low-slope roof replacements will resume in the spring. This project included several improvements to the building’s energy efficiency: a continuous air/vapor barrier, increased roof insulation, and the new skylights with insulating glass on the cone portion of the building.