The eastern seaboard may be experiencing a drought, but for workers on the West-Edens Link, the weather isn't dry enough.
Painters, brick-layers and other construction workers have been laboring seven days per week on the project for several weeks, but recent rain and the approaching July 26 deadline are making for a more hectic finish to the new 350-bed dorms, said construction officials. Even with the added pressure, they expect to finish work on time.
"It's very hectic over here. Every time it rains we can't do any site work," said Jeff Blaisdell, superintendent for Beacon-Beers Partnership, the group overseeing the WEL construction. "We have 19 weeks to finish and we need every one of them to be productive. If we lose a day, we have to find a way to make it up."
Construction began in summer 2000 on the WEL, the center of plans to remake West Campus. Administrators hope the $38 million building will connect Main West Campus with Edens Quadrangle and eventually allow the phasing out of older buildings.
Blaisdell said the interiors of the two buildings at opposite ends of the WEL--buildings A and D--are closest to completion. Workers are painting those
As for the outside of the buildings, Blaisdell said that except for on the tower, the roofing and brickwork should be completed by April. Planners have decided to use Duke stone on the tower, postponing the completion of its exterior until early June. The tower will include a diner, a cafe and social and study space.
"That should be pretty spectacular," said Roger Belanger, program coordinator for the Residential Program Review, which coordinates planning for the WEL and renovations to Main West.
Before spring break, workers began initial landscaping of the areas around the WEL, starting with the corner near Few Quadrangle. They hope to have laid much of the groundwork for the look of the area within the next month, Belanger said.
Overall, Belanger expects the project to be completed by the July deadline, when Housing Management is scheduled to begin moving in furniture.
For the workers pushing to complete the project on time, the rain and irregular schedule make for especially hectic work, Blaisdell said. And although work continues on Saturdays and Sundays, he said smaller crews of workers ensure that not every worker has a seven-day week.
Blaisdell said the pace of construction should become more intense in the summer.
"It's much easier during the summer," Blaisdell said. "We don't have to worry about noise before 8 in the morning and after 6 at night."
As workers hurry to finish the WEL, Belanger said the administration is trying to inform potential residents about how the dorms will look.
But, with students choosing housing in the next week, Belanger said there is not enough time to organize information sessions. Instead, his office will try to make available photographs of mock-up rooms.
"Basically what we want to do is be able to give students who are interested in living in WEL an idea of what it will look like inside," he said. "We were giving some tours, but with the construction site so busy, it's really hard to bring people in during the workday."
Administrators have set up a website to follow the construction visually: http://evs2.video-monitoring.com/images/costructures/duke.htm.
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