South Graham Hall is coming down, and North Graham will not befar behind.
Howard Ellis, project supervisor for Lee Valley IndustriesEnvironmental Services, said the company plans to finish thedemolition of South Graham Hall by Aug. 31 and begin North GrahamSept. 1.
The company will finish North Graham by Sept. 24, Ellissaid.
This is following the removal of asbestos from both buildings, aprocess which took about two and a half months to complete.
Ellis said the company is slightly ahead of schedule, becausethe abatement team — those who removed the asbestos — wasscheduled to finish Sept. 18.
“Not only did that make the school happy, but it also made thedemolition contractors happy,” Ellis said.
Ellis said the early abatement finish does not guarantee thecompany will complete the demolition earlier than scheduled, butthere is a good chance of early completion.
Ellis said in the demolition process, a wrecking ball fallsthrough the roof of the building and crashes through the floors.Depending on the operator, the wrecking ball will either move tothe left or the right, and continue the process.
Debris from the buildings is separated, and much of it isrecycled.
Ellis said some concrete debris from the dormitory “could windup in the foundation of a new home.”
Ellis said although North Graham is taller than South Graham, itwill take approximately the same amount of time to demolish, andwill not be more difficult.
Although South Graham is close to Dalrymple Drive, Ellis saidthe demolition is planned so no debris will fall into thestreet.
However, Ellis said there will be flagmen nearby to controltraffic if a piece of the building were to fall into thestreet.
“You just never know,” Ellis said. “We don’t want to damage anyvehicles or hurt any students.”
The demolition also is planned so the debris will not damage anyof the University’s oak trees in the area, Ellis said.
Ellis said the construction will cause not only loud noise inthe area, but students may feel vibrations from the process.
“It is a bit loud, and there’s a slight chance that they’ll feelit,” Ellis said. “But, it’s not like an earthquake — we don’t wantto frighten anyone.”
But Ellis said the noise — and the vibration — should notdisturb the students from studying and sleep.
Joe Hitt, assistant manager of Residential Life, said thedepartment will control the hours in which the company operates, sothe noise will not disturb students as much.
But, Hitt said the department does anticipate some students tocomplain about the demolition.
“We always anticipate,” he said. “But, we don’t know if theywill [complain] or not.”
Sarah Rihner, a resident assistant in Beauregard Hall in thePentagon, said she has not heard much noise from the demolition,but she said she thinks it may be louder once the company begins totake down North Graham Hall.
But, Rinher said noise from the demolition is not the worstdistraction in the Pentagon.
“It’s not like the booming noises we hear from the footballplayers’ [cars],” she said.