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November/December 1999If you need help figuring out the way to go as construction moves into high gear, keep looking here. Big changes are in store for the Clinical Center and these updates will help you keep informed about where to go and how to get there during construction of the new Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center.
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New exits A new emergency exit corridor is in place for the Clinical Center's ACRF (the C Wing) now that construction has closed some ground-level exit doors. To reach the new exit, take stairwells 15, 16, or 19 to P1. The stairs lead to a newly constructed corridor that runs the length of the parking garage. At the end of the 785-foot enclosed hallway, go up a short flight of stairs and through a set of double doors. Once outside, you'll be near the P1 garage ramp on Convent Drive.
Signs
up New signs have replaced the hodgepodge of temporaries as construction continues. The new signs provide a standard design and cranberry color to help visitors locate appropriate parking areas and the new south entrance to the Clinical Center. The signs will remain in place until the new Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center is completed. Parking? Some of the parking lots on Convent Drive have reopened. There are about 798 places to park in the three garage levels, a number that should hold steady until the end of 1999. Alternatives?
Try
Parking Lot 41 (A and B) on the south end of NIH. The CC campus
shuttle runs 6:40 a.m.-6:30 p.m. A special shuttle runs directly
from the Clinical Center to Lot 41 (A and B) 6:35 to 8 p.m. From
8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., the shuttle is on call from the CC transportation
desk in the South Lobby. For more info, go to this ORS website:
http://www.nih.gov/od/ors |
Project UpdatesWith excavation for the new clinical research center (CRC) nearly complete, construction manager McCarthy has shifted focus to the new structure's basic supporting system--the footings, walls and columns that will rise on top of caissons (above left). The underground caissons provide the base support for the poured concrete columns and floor slabs. Caissons, filled with reinforcing steel and concrete, run some 40 to 60 feet below the lowest building level. Teams of craftsmen [often referred to as "trade contractors"] are in the process of forming and pouring the first level of columns and foundation walls along the north side of the site. Competitive bids for the rest of the concrete structure structure are in review. The final phase of demolition is in progress--removal of a section of the present floor slab and exterior garage walls to allow for connection of the new building (above right). After this is completed later this fall, all efforts will focus on building the new structure. Hard to miss are the two tower cranes. Four cranes eventually will be installed and remain in place throughout construction. Used to transport materials and equipment around the site, the cranes are placed at different elevations to allow simultaneous operation. The tallest of the four cranes was recently installed. It is 250 feet high, has a 267-foot boom and an 360-foot overall top cross piece. A single person, remaining in constant voice contact with ground crews, operates each crane from the small control center at the top. Tunnel workExcavation and concrete work continues on the east and CRC utility tunnels. They will connect to the west utility tunnel now nearing completion along the west side of Convent Drive. Piping will pass through the lower level of the CRC, run exposed along the north wall and connect to the east and west tunnels. This will be the last link in the campus-wide utility tunnel system that transports steam, chilled water, and potable water around the entire NIH campus. Convent Drive will reopen completely when work on the west tunnel is finished. New support buildingThe satellite switching station, also know as building 59, is being constructed on the west side of the Clinical Center Blood Bank, next to the emergency generators. This switching station will supply power to the existing hospital building, the new CRC, Children's Inn and some NIH housing. The project is expected to take approximately nine months to complete. Currently, the above-grade concrete block, brick exterior walls and roof are complete and the electrical switchgear is in the building. Traffic helpAs excavation
for the CRC foundation continues, construction trucks will enter
the site from the intersection of Convent and Center Drives.
A traffic controller is stationed at this intersection during
morning rush hour weekdays to direct pedestrian and other traffic.
To reduce the volume of truck traffic at this intersection, some
of the trucks will exit the site near the intersection of Center
and Memorial Drives . For more, visit this NIH Division of Engineering
Services web site: http://des.od.nih.gov/scripts/ advisory_detail.asp?advisory_id=6
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