The Nicholls Worth 01.27.

11 page 3

Rec center construction set to conclude by 2012
By Kami Ellender
Staff Writer
Though the groundbreaking cer-
emony was on Dec. 15, construc-
tion on the rec center could not
begin until Jan. 3.
“Groundbreaking is just the cer-
emony in honor of the first time
we turn the ground for the new
building,” Davis said.
The preconstruction meeting
during which the subcontractors
that are working on the building
were present was held on Jan. 3.
The architects, design team, me-
chanical, structural and electri-
cal engineers met to discuss and
review the plans for the building.
Other subcontractors who will do
the roof and ground work met as
well.
“We used this meeting to go
over the scope of work, the time-
line of the project and some of the
“It will be nice to know ‘this is
where I go to get my health on.’ ”
University rules,” Davis said.
He said the meeting was also
used to make sure workers are
aware of parking on campus, the
University’s new tobacco-free
policy and the zero-tolerance
policy that Nicholls has towards
sexual harassment.
At this meeting, the Univer-
sity issued the notice to proceed,
— Mike Davis
which gives contractors the right
to begin construction.
“It starts the clock, which means
the contractors have until June 20,
2012 to have the building com-
pleted,” Davis said.
This time frame will leave the
University about a month and a
half to equip the rec center in case
there are delays while building.
“The workers are entitled a cer-
tain amount of rain days,” Davis
said. “So we’ve got to worry about
rain days and any other delays that
might come into play during the
project.”
Davis said right now the ground
is being prepared for the initial
construction.
“You can actually see the foot-
print of the building now,” Davis
said.
Workers brought in white sand
to build the area to the level need-
ed to prevent flooding. The sand
was packed with bulldozers, and
afterwards, dirt was brought in
to fill spaces and even everything
out.
Davis said the next step is to
drive pilings into the ground.
Then, the contractors can pour the
slab.
“What everybody needs to keep
in mind is that in this part of the
project, you’re not going to see
much going on,” Davis said. “It’s
a lot of dirt work.”
Mike Matherne, director of
campus recreation, said that the
rec center is the most positive
thing to happen at the University
since the first dorms were open in
1963.
see REC CENTER page 6

photo by Bridget Mire

Construction continues last week at the site of the future recreation center.