UW to Move Ahead with BSL

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees voted today (Wednesday) to move forward with construction and repairs of UW’s biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory.

The action will allow a streamlined approach to the project, rather than the past process that has entailed communication and coordination with the state Department of Administration and Information’s Office of Construction Management, the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office, and various contractors and consultants.

UW personnel now will direct the project, with funding coming from the state of Wyoming risk pool.

Design development is scheduled for completion in mid-September. Final design and construction documents will be prepared, and then bids for construction will be solicited.

The BSL-3 lab, a 20,000-square-foot addition to the Department of Veterinary Sciences building, will provide ideal conditions for researchers to work with wildlife and livestock diseases including brucellosis, plague, tularemia and Q fever, assuring safety for the researchers and the public.