Maybe it’s the seven-year itch. It seems like every seven years or so, West Virginia University embarks on a major construction project. Judging by the whirlwind of activity on the Morgantown campus, it must be that time again. And this time it’s not one major project, but three. Construction is under way on both of the University’s major campuses. The Downtown campus, with its traditional clock tower academic setting, is the site of two projects, while the more contemporary Evansdale campus is home to the third. At Evansdale, the steel framing is almost complete for the new $34-million Student Recreation Center. The 170,000 sq. ft. (15,800 sq m) building will house a weight and fitness training center, a lap pool, a leisure pool, an elevated running track, basketball, squash and racquetball courts, a climbing wall, and a variety of support facilities. Construction started in August 1999 and is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2001. Downtown, construction on the $43-million, five-story Life Sciences Building is well under way. This 200,000 sq. ft. (17,600 sq m) building will house the University’s biology and psychology programs. Work was started in the fall of 1999 should be completed by the end of 2001. Another Downtown project just coming out of the ground is the $36-million addition to and renovation of the University’s main library, the Wise Library. While the smallest of the three major projects at 125,000 sq. ft. (11,500 sq m), not including another 86,000 sq. ft. (8,000 sq m) of renovation to the existing library, the project in many ways is the most challenging. Not surprisingly, working within the confines of a very restrictive site proved to be the biggest challenge. Besides the existing library to the rear, the proposed addition is bound on either side by other campus buildings, and moderately sloping topography to the front. The building design includes five floors, two of which are below the first floor elevation of the existing library, and required more than 25 ft. (7.5 m) of excavation. The first challenge facing Turner Construction, construction manager for the project, was how to shore the foundation of existing building. The Wise library was constructed in the early 1930s as a five-story building, and in the 1940s five more floors were added. Before any serious excavation began, Turner contracted with Richard Goettle Inc. of Cincinnati, OH, to install a tangent concrete caisson wall adjacent to the existing library. The caissons were drilled and poured to an average depth of 28 ft. (8.5 m). and keyed 5 ft. (1.5 m) into the bedrock. A total of 82 caissons were drilled, poured and connected with a structural grade beam. As the excavation for the site proceeded, Goettle also installed a permanent pile and lagging retaining wall system to provide shoring for the adjacent buildings, Laurita Excavating, a Fairmont, WV, company, is responsible for all earthwork for the project. But before the massive excavation could begin in earnest, utilities within a service tunnel that ran across the site had to be relocated. Steam lines, high voltage electric, telecommunications, as well as storm and sanitary lines, all were re-routed in an operation that took several months. According to Turner Project Manager Ralph Melocchi, “Site utility relocation was difficult. We had a hard time fitting everything in among the existing buildings.” Once all the preliminary construction was completed, Laurita was able to proceed with the site excavation unimpeded. Using Hitachi excavators and Caterpillar D9 dozers the first 20 ft. (6 m) went fairly quickly. The last 5 ft. (1.5 m) was bedrock excavation and went considerably slower. While some of the rock could be ripped, much of it proved too hard. Laurita, which owns most of its equipment, mounted its newly purchased E225 NPK 7,800 lb. (3,540 kg) hydraulic hammer on one of its Hitachi excavators and went to work. Laurita President Atelio Meale reports that, “The hammer went through the rock like butter.” When the excavation was complete, more than 22,000 cu. yds. (17,000 cu m) had been moved. The building foundations are now being constructed by March-Westin, Morgantown, WV. Structural steel erection will follow. The addition was started in August 1999 and is scheduled for completion in January 2002. Renovation of the existing library will follow and should be finished sometime in 2003. This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.
Aggregate Equipment
Articles
Newsletters
Sell Machines
