On-campus construction will be completed on time despite flooding and lost days of work due to Hurricane Sandy.
The McKinley Building, North Hall and Nebraska Hall additions flooded on Oct. 29 during the storm but did not suffer any water damage, according to Jorge Abud, assistant vice president of Facilities Development and Real Estate.
“Delays because of weather are always anticipated in the schedule, so I don’t think it’s going to have a material impact on the completion date,” he said.
North Hall and the Nebraska Hall addition are expected to be completed by next fall. The renovation of the McKinley Building into the new School of Communication is expected to be finished in spring 2014.
Crews began visual inspection of the damage Oct. 30 before beginning to pump out the water the next day, Abud said. Most of the water should be removed by the end of Nov. 1, he said.
Abud said the 100-foot crane situated on the North Hall site was workers’ “biggest concern” prior to the hurricane.
McDowell Hall residents should not have been concerned about the AU crane collapsing, said Michael Purcell, the project manager for the Nebraska and North Halls.
“The cranes in this area are designed to withstand winds of 94 mph, so we knew the storm was going to be below that,” Abud said.
Abud said construction workers took proper precaution for the storm.
“We rely on them to use their good judgment,” Abud said.
sraphelson@theeagleonline.com
