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Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 4:03 p.m.

Storm Watch: District cranes can uphold 100 mph winds

by Matthew Kwiecinski

Construction sites like the Science and Engineering Hall were secured in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. Hatchet File Photo by Zach Krahmer | Senior Staff Photographer

Worried about what the winds will do to the massive construction cranes outside your residence hall window?

Mayor Vincent Gray tweeted Monday that the city’s construction cranes are designed to withstand winds up to 100 mph – just minutes after a high rise crane in New York City snapped in half at 65 feet above ground because of strong winds from Hurricane Sandy, according to The Washington Post.

Contractors for University construction sites, like those for the Science and Engineering Hall and the School of Public Health and Health Services, implemented emergency plans for the storm to ensure the cranes could sustain the wind, Darrell Darnell, senior associate vice president of the University’s Office of Safety and Security, said Saturday.

“[We’re] pretty confident we have the right plans in place,” Darnell said then.

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Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 11:27 a.m.

Storm Watch: Contractors ready construction sites for storm

by Cory Weinberg

With powerful gusts expected as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall in D.C. Monday, the University is working with contractors to safeguard major construction sites across the Foggy Bottom Campus.

Contractors are securing construction sites like the School of Public Health and Health Services as Hurricane Sandy approaches. Jordan Emont | Photo Editor

The crane that stood at the Science and Engineering Hall site when Hurricane Irene hit campus last year remained secure.“[The contractors] have their own emergency plans in place for the storm, especially to make sure the cranes can sustain wind,” Darnell said “[We’re] pretty confident we have the right plans in place.”

 

 

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Wednesday, May 2, 2012 7:25 p.m.

Water authority to continue nighttime construction on 22nd Street

by Matthew Kwiecinski

A four-by-five foot hole that appeared April 24 on 22nd Street forced District officials to redirect traffic. Hatchet File Photo

The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority will resume late-night construction on 22nd Street Wednesday, after the University expressed “displeasure” following student complaints.

The water authority drilled Tuesday from about 11:30 p.m. until 1:45 a.m. on the block between H and I streets to fix a leaking underground water main that prompted a sinkhole last week, according to a release from the Office of the Dean of Students.

“The concerns have been passed on and we’re told the work will be complete within a day or so,” University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said.

Inspector John Crowder, who is leading construction at the site, said work will begin at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and end at about 3 or 4 a.m., but noisy work will finish by 10 p.m.

He said Wednesday would likely be the last night of construction, as workers pinpointed the leak Tuesday night.

“We understand it’s an incovenience, but it is a matter of public health,” Crowder said. “We know what we have to do to remedy the problem.”

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Friday, March 2, 2012 8:23 p.m.

University marks start of construction for public health school

by The GW Hatchet

University President Steven Knapp, left, and School of Public Health and Health Services Dean Lynn Goldman, right, held hammers Friday to commemorate the start of construction for the school's new building. Kierran Petersen | Hatchet Photographer

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Frankie Kane.

Administrators, students and alumni gathered Friday at Warwick Memorial Building to start the structure’s symbolic demolition to make way for the School of Public Health and Health Services’ first standalone home.

The new $75 million building will centralize the 14-year-old school’s seven departments under one roof at New Hampshire Avenue and 24th Street, off Washington Circle.

“On your mark, get set, pretend,” University President Steven Knapp said as a handful of administrators posed wearing hard hats and clutching hammers.

SPHHS Dean Lynn Goldman said the new building will offer the school a common space to host informal meetings. Public health courses are held in Ross Hall, home to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, forcing professors to schedule many classes for late in the afternoon or evening when rooms are available.

She added that a central location would foster collaboration among the school’s different departments.

“We are at an important intersection in time and space,” Goldman said.

The actual demolition of the Warwick Memorial Building – which previously housed the GW Hospital’s radiation oncology unit – will begin in the next week. That department moved to a temporary site near Tompkins Hall this semester.

The SPHHS building is slated to open by spring 2014.

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Friday, March 2, 2012 8:56 a.m.

Controlled blasting to begin at SEH construction site

by Priya Anand

Controlled blasts at the Science and Engineering Hall construction site are slated to begin in mid-March. | Hatchet File Photo

Controlled blasting will begin at the Science and Engineering Hall construction site in mid-March.

The typically noisy construction technique will mostly take place between 10:30 and 11 a.m., according to an e-mail sent by the Office of the Dean of Students to residents of JBKO, Munson, Fulbright and Madison halls.

The Metropolitan Police Department will guide temporary road closures just before and during each set of blasts.

Blaring air horns will signal the start of the blasting to notify workers and the public 15 minutes, five minutes and one minute ahead of the activity, according to the e-mail. One horn after will sound afterward. The vibrations and noise from the blasts will be comparable to a door slamming or large truck driving driving by.

“First, let us stress that these activities are highly monitored to ensure they fall within the regulated limits and do not adversely affect any adjacent structures,” the e-mail read. “The university has undertaken numerous safety and security measures, including extensive site analysis.”

GW has placed seismographs in nearby buildings to track vibrations during the blasting to make sure the blasts are within acceptable safety limits.

The notice recommended that residents in buildings near the construction site shut their windows because the blasting “agitates soil.”

University spokeswoman Jill Sankey said soil conditions will determine the exact date blasts will begin, but the projection is mid-March or later.

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Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011 6:32 p.m.

Irene Watch: Campus construction secured in case of high winds

by Priya Anand

The University Parking Garage is in the process of being demolished to make way for the Science and Engineering complex, now called the Science and Engineering Hall. Jordan Emont | Assistant Photo Editor

Contractors have secured all campus construction and demolition sites in preparation for severe winds, the University official who oversees development projects said.

The University does not anticipate construction areas will create any safety issues when Hurricane Irene reaches D.C., including the half-demolished University Parking Garage at 22nd and H streets, Senior Associate Vice President for Operations Alicia O’Neil Knight said.

“The University’s contractors remain ready to respond to any unforeseen issues,” she said, adding that it is possible that the rainfall and winds could “cause on-site conditions that require attention when construction resumes” – for example, cleanup issues – but as of now, officials believe that situation is unlikely.

Current campus construction projects that were secured include the Science and Engineering complex, known now as the Science and Engineering Hall, and the Law Learning Center and Garage, she said.

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Thursday, April 7, 2011 9:02 a.m.

Smith Center construction to clear up for Commencement

by The GW Hatchet

Construction outside the Smith Center along 22nd and G streets is expected to be completed in time for Comencement Weekend May 13-15. Photo by Elise Apelian

 

 

This post was written by Hatchet reporter  Becky Boutwell

Renovations at the Smith Center aren’t expected to interfere with Commencement ceremonies in mid-May, though some work may be completed after seniors graduate.

Construction now blocks an entrance at the corner of 22nd and G streets, as well as the sidewalk in front of the main entrance on 22nd Street.

“The 22nd Street entry work will be completed before Commencement and the building will be fully operational for the event,” University spokeswoman Sherrard said in an e-mail.

This is welcome news for some seniors who were concerned that the renovations would interfere with school ceremonies that take place in the building before the University-wide Commencement on the National Mall.

“If it wasn’t complete by Commencement, it would take away from it,” said Emi Acquafredda, a senior who said she wasn’t aware the renovations would continue after basketball season this year.

The renovation project that began in 2009 is in its third and final phase of the Smith Center, and includes exterior façade renovations, landscaping and interior work to areas such as the lobby, box office, and 22nd and G Street entry.

One upgrade to the 22nd Street entry is an Americans with Disabilities Act compliant entry ramp.

Some exterior work will be ongoing at the F and G Street entries, as well as installation of donor recognition and branding elements inside the building. The final landscaping and hardscaping work will be complete in the summer, Sherrard said.

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Monday, Jan. 17, 2011 2:16 p.m.

Planners hope MLK memorial will be completed this August

by The GW Hatchet

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Ethan Bursofsky

As the District celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, a memorial along the Tidal Basin in his honor is nearing completion, and may be revealed to the public this summer.

If the memorial is completed on time, a ceremony is planned for Aug. 28 that may be opened by President Barack Obama.

That date will mark the anniversary of MLK’s March on Washington in 1963 where he gave his famous “I have a dream” speech.

MLK Jr. National Memorial Foundation spokeswoman Rica Orszag said the Foundation still needs funds for the memorial to be completed.

“So far we have reached a total of $108 million out of the needed $120 million needed for the completion of the monument,” Orszag said in an e-mail.

She explained that the Foundation must raise the remaining $12 million by Aug. 28 to complete the memorial in time. Obama will be invited to the opening ceremony to dedicate the memorial, Orszag said.

On this year’s holiday for King, part of the memorial’s 30-foot centerpiece, called the “Stone of Hope,” is visible to passersby.

The stone — depicting the Civil Rights leader standing tall — signifies the beginning of the final stages of the memorial construction. Since the Stone of Hope statue’s delivery to the memorial site in October, “the sculptor and his team have been fine tuning this piece,” Orszag said.

It’s taken more than a decade to create the memorial since former President Bill Clinton authorized congressional legislation proposing the establishment of an MLK memorial in D.C. in 1996.

In September 2008 the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts approved the final design for the memorial after debate over the sculpture’s appearance. Some thought one design made King’s statue look like that of a foreign dictator’s, and that version of the sculpture was rejected. Construction of the memorial began in fall 2009 after a permit was issued by the National Park Service.

More cherry trees and foliage are set to be added to the site to compliment the greenery already there. Some of the lighting and other electrical equipment has also going to be set up, Orszag said.

Orszag said there are various ways to get involved in the finalization of the memorial. More information on donating can be found at www.buildthedream.org, and those who want to volunteer with the organization can  sign up at www.mlkmemorial.org.

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Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010 7:21 p.m.

Metro construction creates significant travel delays

by The GW Hatchet

A Metro employee directs travelers to shuttle buses Saturday evening outside of the Foggy Bottom Station. Construction on the Blue and Orange lines halted Metrorail travel between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle over Columbus Day Weekend, causing the need for shuttle buses to take the place of Metro trains. Francis Rivera | Hatchet Staff Photographer

This post was written by Hatchet Staff Writers Justin Kits and Emily Cahn

Construction on the Blue and Orange lines this weekend turned the area outside the Foggy Bottom Metro to a de facto bus stop, as Metrobuses were serving as shuttles between the Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle Metro stops.

The rail work shut down Blue and Orange line service at the Farragut West, McPherson Square and Metro Center stations from 10 p.m. Friday night until the morning of Oct. 12, causing significant travel delays for Metrorail travelers.

Some riders said the delays were frustrating as they boarded the Metro shuttle buses that lined 23rd Street outside of GW Hospital.

“I’m thinking its going to make me late for the game, so I’m kind of pissed,” said Cliff Emerson of Manassas, Va. who was traveling into D.C. to attend the Capitals game at the Verizon Center.

Commuters could take Metrorail from Foggy Bottom into Virginia, but travel was halted between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle from Friday evening until the morning of Oct. 12. Francis Rivera | Hatchet Staff Photographer

“I won’t know until I get there,” Emerson said with a laugh of the delays added onto his trip time.

Alex Babin, who was traveling on the Blue and Orange lines, said the closures impacted his travel “very unpleasantly” today, saying that the construction added about an hour to his commute.

Others, however, said they had come to terms with the delays, and said they were not too much of a nuisance.

Maddie Heanue, a student at Catholic University located in Northeast D.C., said the delays added about 15 minutes to her trip.
“It’s not that big of a deal, you just have to roll with it,” Heanue said, in response to how much delay and inconvenience the outages had caused.

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Friday, June 18, 2010 11:41 a.m.

Faculty, Staff service center to open in Rice Hall

by Matt Rist

This post was written by Hatchet Staff Writer Shaeera Tariq.

A multiple use service center for faculty and staff is set to open on the first floor of Rice Hall this July, a University spokeswoman said earlier this week.

The new center will streamline several faculty and staff human resource officers, including the benefits administration office, the parking and transportation services office, the office of payroll services, and the tax and workers compensation office into one, University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said.

“On opening-day, the FSSC will provide a service-oriented, single-source location for GW’s faculty and staff to conduct transactions currently managed by the FSSC’s collaborating offices,” Sherrard said in an e-mail.

Sherrard said the FSSC will serve as a “walk-in center,” allowing faculty and staff a single office to address multiple issues handled by multiple existing offices on campus.

“This walk-in center will be geared to serve employees who need to conduct their business in person,” Sherarrd said. “The services provided will be consistent with those provided by collaborating departments and business partners by phone or via the web.”

Over time, the center will expand to include other related functions as well such as GWorld services, Sherrard said.

The new location will share the space on the first floor with Human Resources which will transition its staff to the Rice Hall office, Sherrard said.

“In addition to providing a single-source face-to-face service presence, the collaborating departments are also working to expand self-service and online offerings wherever feasible,” Sherrard said.

Sherrard was unable to give an exact estimate of the construction costs and the hiring of new staff members for the center.

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