The demolition and cleanup of North and South Graham Halls isgoing just as planned, according to University and projectadministrators.
Demolition began in August on South Graham, the smaller of thetwo buildings that used to serve as residence halls near thePentagon. The first parts of North Graham came down in earlySeptember.
The second demolition was well ahead of schedule, said HowardEllis, project supervisor for Lee Valley Industry EnvironmentalServices.
Ellis said his company’s responsibilities, including cleaning upthe mountain of debris and preparing building pads for the newconstruction, should be complete before Thanksgiving.
“It has been a relatively uneventful process,” said SteveWaller, associate director of Residential Life. “The noise is notthat loud, so there have not been any complaints.”
Jeff Schneider, a mass communication junior and West CampusApartments resident, said he has not been disturbed by constructionwork.
“The noise hasn’t been bad because it’s on a hill,” he said.
No explosives were used in either demolition, Ellis said.
The University will begin accepting bids in November for thenext phase of construction, Waller said. Plans have been drawn upand approved for construction of a four-building complex on thesite.
Three of those buildings will house three residential colleges,including the Information Technology program now located inBeauregard Hall, an international program and the freshman entryprogram in Herget Hall, Waller said.
Pedestrian and car traffic have not hindered the company’sprogress, Ellis said, but some disregard blocked walkways.
“If there’s an open door or gate, they will walk through it,” hesaid. “We put up safety barricade and safety tape that says’caution’ or ‘don’t enter,’ but there are a few that test that.Some of the students and the faculty like to cut through.”
Joey Cooper, a political science sophomore who lives in WCA,said walking around the site was more of an inconvenience than thenoise caused by the demolition.
“I have a class at 7:30 in the morning and I have to walk allthe way around it just to go to the Cox building,” Cooper said.
Cooper also said he recently had problems with dust from theconstruction site.
“I was outside studying (Monday) and it was bothering me so badthat I had to go in,” he said.
But Ellis said they had mostly avoided severe dust problems byspraying the site down with water.
Fans and students should not have any problems on football gamedays, when work on the site is halted or minimal, Ellis said.
“We know that football comes first,” he said.
Waller said the transition from demolition to the newconstruction should go smoothly over the next few months.