Campus Construction Update for March 9

These are among the construction activities scheduled March 9-15 at the University of Wyoming:

Grand Avenue Reconstruction (Wyoming Department of Transportation) – 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.

University Store Remodeling -- (General contractor Arcon Inc. Laramie; scheduled completion April 2014) -- Phase I 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 the week of March 10. Remodeling activities on the east half of the main level of the store will begin during the week of March 10. 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.

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

Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center (General contractor Haselden Constructors, Casper; 22nd and Grand; scheduled completion fall 2014) -- The curtain wall and glazing systems continue to be installed on the north elevation of the building. The window frames and glazing for the windows in Legacy Hall on the building’s south portion are being installed this week. The suspended grid ceiling is complete in the north portion of the building, allowing lighting fixtures and vents to be installed. The epoxy flooring was installed in the kitchen, and the kitchen equipment has been ordered. Drywall has been installed in the upper portions of the ballroom. Drywall finish and base layers of paint are being applied. Framing of the walls in the Grand Atrium are approximately 90 percent complete, and mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-ins are underway. Drywall finishing and painting continue in the Memorial Concourse. Both elevators are completely installed and operational. The suspended ceilings are complete on the first floor of the building’s south portion. Drywall finishing and painting activities are ongoing on the second floor. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in work is nearing completion on the third floor, which will allow for the installation of drywall in the next week or two. 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 late March to 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.

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.

Part of the west sidewalk along the north end will be closed to pedestrians for 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 will be complete this week. 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 has 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.

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.

During March 13-23, 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 period of utility work.

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.

From Wednesday, March 12, through Friday, March 14, delivery and staging of significant structural components of the project will potentially cause periodic and short-term traffic delays on 15th Street and along the perimeter of the Wyoming Union parking lot. Heavy truck traffic, including structural steel transport, concrete trucks, earth-moving equipment and other haulers, will continue to be frequent on Willett Drive west of 15th Street and along the perimeter of the Wyoming Union parking lot. Temporary traffic controls and signs are either in place or will be established as needed by specific site activities. Please observe all posted traffic control, construction signs and temporary flagging.

Biological Sciences Building Mechanical Modifications (General Contractor Independent Heating & 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.

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 is closed, and a temporary access/egress detour has been established west of the Agriculture Building. The pedestrian sidewalk in the Education Annex vicinity is closed on the south side of Lewis Street, with pedestrian access rerouted to the north side of the street at the established construction limits. Parking in the vicinity is closed on the south side of Lewis Street at the construction limits. Project activities include final close-out activities in advance of project substantial completion, testing and verification of building systems, site work related to the exterior building addition, and improvements in the former alleyway. Work on the improvements in the former alleyway will result in increased construction traffic in the form of concrete trucks and other heavy equipment. The construction area is closed to all unauthorized parties. Please observe all posted traffic control and construction signage.

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.

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. The fire department access loop will remain until site work along the west of the Education Building is complete and allows relocation of the fire department access loop. 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.

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.

Golf Practice Facility (General contractor Spiegelberg Lumber and Building Co., Laramie; scheduled completion March 2014) -- 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 312 projects in progress valued at more than $21.1 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.

Campus Chilled Water -- Campus chilled water may be shut down periodically Mach 19-22 in order 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 -- Domestic water will be shut down March 16 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. 

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) -- Plumbing rough-ins to begin this week. An electrical shutdown is scheduled Monday, March 7, and will affect the southeast corner of the building. 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 energy efficiency of the building: a continuous air/vapor barrier, increased roof insulation, and the new skylights with insulating glass on the cone portion of the building.

Aven Nelson Building -- Restoration and re-installation of the light posts south of the Williams Conservatory is complete. The lights were donated by the UW Class of 1911, and the post color was selected to replicate the original color. The existing mercury vapor lamps were replaced with efficient LED lamps providing significant energy savings and reduced maintenance costs. This is an example of a historical renovation project updated to incorporate new energy efficient technology. The lights are now expected to last another 100 years.