“There’s no question things are slowing down some on campus, but there are several new projects that are moving ahead,” he said. “There’s no major problem on any of the projects — they’re moving right along.”

Finishing this summer
Several projects, including renovations to Owen Graduate Hall and Wilson and Birch roads, will reach completion before students return for the 2009-10 school year, Nestle said.

Renovations to Owen Graduate Hall are part of a “fast-track project,” project representative Tony Rhodes said at a July 9 Construction Junction meeting. The $10 million project, which launched in May, is progressing on schedule and is slated for completion by July 31, he said.

“We’re said to be doing about $750,000 (of work) a week, we’ve got a lot of weeks to do $10 million worth of work,” he said at the meeting. “It’s been exceptionally fast-paced.”

Currently, construction crews have finished dry-walling the hall and are expected to begin moving equipment into the new dining area. The existing game room and TV room were removed and old conference and ping-pong tables in the basement on the west side of the building were replaced with a study lounge.

By the end of July, the residence hall will reopen to students with a new dining area, game and TV room as well as updated safety systems, he said.

English junior Kristin Washburn said she thinks work on campus buildings is necessary to preserving MSU’s campus.

“The buildings are beautiful, but they’re kind of old and shabby,” she said.

Construction on Wilson and Birch roads, which began in May, is expected to finish on schedule Aug. 14, project representative Andy Linebaugh said.

Work on the parking lots off of Birch Road and many of the sidewalks along the roads have reached completion, Linebaugh said during the construction meeting. Construction is currently focused on the area between Holden and Wilson halls, he said.

“That area looks like a bomb hit it right now,” Linebaugh said.

Finishing this fall
As the fall semester begins and students head back to class, several projects will near completion, including renovations to Wharton Center and the creation of the bridge on Farm Lane.

Construction on Wharton Center, which now features new signage suspended from the building’s new face as well as a new ticketing center, is slated for substantial completion by the end of September, project representative Leisa Williams-Swedberg said during the construction meeting.

The project is on schedule, with construction crews completing work on the first floor and continuing to progress toward the conclusion of construction on the second floor, she said. The third floor, which contains offices, opened to faculty on June 8, she said.

Political science junior Valerie Klemmer said construction is important to preserve MSU.

“I love being on campus, so any time we make improvements it’s good in my book,” she said.

Construction on the bridge to Farm Lane, which is slated to open to traffic by Sept. 22, is progressing rapidly after a setback that delayed the project earlier in the year, construction representative Linebaugh said during the meeting. Construction on parking lots along the roadway is now complete, as are many of the sidewalks along the roadway.

“They’ve really picked up the pace out there lately,” he said. “It’s moving along.”

Linebaugh said the overall goal is to open the road from Wilson to Trowbridge roads, then to Service Road and Farm Lane. Construction currently involves a “litany of things,” including work on retaining walls that will separate pedestrians from traffic and on driveways leading into campus buildings, he said.

“You name it, it’s going on,” Linebaugh said.

Finishing in the longer-term
Several large-scale projects will continue through the school year, including the upheaval of Brody Hall and construction on the Cyclotron.

Reconstruction of Brody Hall, which began in January, is expected to continue until May 2011. The $49.8 million project will include new furnishings, lighting upgrades, flooring and ceiling replacements and an addition to the existing building.

“Brody Complex is complex,” construction representative Williams-Swedberg said during the construction meeting.

Currently, the front face of Brody Hall has been removed, she said, and the south face is now paved. As renovations continue, a temporary kitchen will remain open for students, she said.

Food industry management senior Andrew Davio, who lived in Brody Complex as a freshman, said although he enjoyed the complex, the buildings needed an update.

“It’ll be nice when it’s done,” he said. “(The buildings) weren’t new, but it’s not like they were in bad shape.”

Before the end of the summer, the new offices in the addition to the Cyclotron will be open for use, project representative Sharon Joy said. Glass is in place for the windows, leaving the placement of metal and metal caps for the window lines in progress. Joy said the Department of Energy is expected to move into the office area by July 20.

Although the office portion of the construction is slated for completion by the end of summer, the project as a whole is not expected to be complete until July 2010 as work on a new high-bay area continues, spokesman Geoff Koch said.