Work is still happening on getting the contracts in place and we received a tentative start date of June 24. That means that the significant noise impacts will likely be centered around mid-July through early August. This is still not a firm date and will likely shift in either direction.

A few preparations to note.

• The Rettenmeyer ant exhibit in the Stevens Gallery on Level B will be removed next week so you have one last chance to check it out. We will be keeping the Norman Stevens Gallery free of exhibits through January, 2020 to accommodate construction.
• The Q Center staff has moved to their temporary summer home on Level 3 in the East Reading Room (also known as where the Roper Center resided). If you need help finding them, please stop at the iDesk and we can help.
• And although this isn’t construction related, we have heard that the Humanities Institute is closed from June 17-26 and July 8-12.

The stairwell construction slated to start on Monday is delayed as a result of issues in the bidding phase. Work cannot begin without all contracts in place and we are in a situation where we need to carefully review the bids we have and seek out additional services. We do not have a new start date but anticipate work will be delayed for a few weeks. We have been notified the manufacturing of the steel beams has moved forward so they can be ready when needed.

We are getting closer to the end of the semester which means we are getting closer to the start of the stairwell construction!

Schedule

The full construction schedule is in the screenshot below. This will be updated as construction starts and timetables change.

Map of Construction Area

The map below is the area around the construction. There is a lot of great information on this including the locations of the temporary fencing and dumpsters, egress, and the fate of the trees on the east side of the plaza.

Air Quality Testing

The University will be performing air quality testing before, during and after construction in both Babbidge and Dodd.

Services Affected

In addition to the increased noise levels during some of the construction, there will be a few service impacts. During the erection of the steel portion of the staircase (estimated to be around June 27-July 8), the public side of Level B will be inaccessible from 7am-3pm. During that time collections in that space will be unavailable and we will set up a paging system after 3pm. We will be adding noise cancelling headphones into circulation. The Q Center will be closing after finals to begin their relocation to the 3^rd floor and will be looking for alternative space over the summer. The W Center will be looking at their hours for when they reopen in June to try and work around the construction schedule. Bookworms will be closed all summer.

Alternative Work Arrangements

We are working on a temporary locations for staff during periods of increased noise that will include conference rooms, classrooms, and workspaces.