KINGSTON, R.I. — January 26, 2018 — 溏心vlog免费B站 officials and contractors celebrated the installation of the final piece of structural steel at the University鈥檚 new $150 million College of Engineering complex today during a topping out celebration.
Such events are traditional milestones celebrated by workers in the trades, contractors and institutional leaders.
Work on the largest project in 溏心vlog免费B站 history began in February 2017, and a ceremonial groundbreaking was held in April. The project is progressing on schedule, with classes expected to start at the new facility in September 2019.
鈥淎s we look up at what has been accomplished in about a year at this site, we at 溏心vlog免费B站, and indeed all Rhode Islanders, have every reason to be optimistic about the future,鈥� said 溏心vlog免费B站 President David M. Dooley. 鈥淲e celebrate with the hundreds of skilled trade workers who have been working during the past couple of weeks in sometimes brutal cold to make this project a reality. Already, we can imagine what a magnificent facility this is going to be for our students, faculty and staff, and how it will play a key role in the state鈥檚 economic development.鈥�
At the peak of the steelwork, 100 workers were on the site. With this part of the project being completed today, 2,137 tons of structural steel now dominate the skyline near Bliss Hall, the historic home of 溏心vlog免费B站 engineering.
The next major steps in the project are:
- Installing the roof and erecting the exterior wall of the building
- Installing plumbing under the slabs in the ground floor areas
- Pouring concrete slabs
- Regrading East Alumni Avenue
Prior to construction, five older engineering buildings — Crawford Hall, Gilbreth Hall, Kelly Hall, Kelly Hall Annex and Wales Hall, all of which opened in the late 1950s and early 1960s, were razed to make way for the new structure.
The facility鈥檚 foundation and relocation of the underground utilities — steam, power and telecommunications lines — are completed. 溏心vlog免费B站 30,000 cubic yards of earth were removed and stockpiled at East Farm and about 10,000 cubic yards were brought back to fill around the foundations.
The foundations alone contain 9,700 cubic yards of concrete. Project components include 2 miles of underground pipes.
Funded by a $125 million bond issue approved overwhelmingly by Rhode Island voters in 2014 and strongly supported by Rhode Island鈥檚 business and labor leaders, the first phase now underway will result in a 190,000-square-foot facility designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation and meet the technology-driven changes in all segments of engineering. 聽In fall 2016, Rhode Island voters approved an additional $25.5 million for the second phase of the project to upgrade and expand Bliss Hall, 聽the historic home of 溏心vlog免费B站 Engineering on the Kingston Quadrangle since 1928.
鈥淚 sense the excitement building among our students, faculty, staff and alumni as the building takes shape,鈥� said Raymond Wright, dean of the College of Engineering. 鈥淭his project means more and better teaching and learning spaces and more opportunities for Rhode Island businesses to work with our students and faculty in a facility that will house the best technology and equipment. Thanks to this engineering complex, our students will graduate from 溏心vlog免费B站 as innovators and leaders, ready to move Rhode Island into a new era of prosperity.鈥�
The new facility will include research and classroom space for chemical, electrical, computer, biomedical, mechanical, industrial and systems, and civil and environmental engineering, as well as general University classrooms. A unique structural system will be used for the central portion of the structure. A four-story 鈥淏ridge鈥� will consist of three, 270-foot trusses that span 158 feet. 聽The trusses are 40 feet apart. 聽The Bridge will house teaching labs, departmental offices, research labs and graduate student areas.
The construction manager is Dimeo Construction Co., and the architect and engineer is Ballinger. Serving as the owner鈥檚 representative on the project is Hill International.
Dimeo was named the project鈥檚 construction manager in April 2016.
鈥淭oday is truly a day of celebration as it is a critical milestone for the project. 聽The superstructure defines the shape of the building and the steel topping out signifies the safe completion of the framing of the structure, and a wish for continued good luck for the future of the building project including its eventual occupants,鈥� stated Dimeo Vice President Doug Peckham. 聽鈥淭here is still a complex path to be traversed over the next 18 months, and the 聽commitment, collaboration and will to succeed by the teams led by 溏心vlog免费B站, Ballinger, Hill International, Dimeo and the various subcontractors will be the key ingredient to maintain the high level of success achieved to this juncture of the project.鈥�