For the most up-to-date information about campus construction visit smithgeoenergy.info.
General
Excavation and distribution of piping will continue in the Ainsworth west parking lot and near Hatfield Hall. Hammering activities will continue on Tyler lawn to support the horizontal drilling operation until June 20, and drilling for this activity, as well as the bore field, is ongoing.
Phase 1 – North of Elm
Interior Activities
- Work will occur on the heat pumps in the Capen Energy Plant. Cooling services will be impacted in the North of Elm District on Sunday, June 29 and Monday, June 30 from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- This shutdown will affect Davis, Parsons, Talbot and Albright houses. Outside of work hours, cooling will be fully functioning.
- Punch-list building conversion activities will occur in the Campus School, Helen Hills Hills Chapel, Dawes House, Cutter-Ziskind, and Unity House.
Phase 2 – Quadrangle
Interior Activities
- Demolition and piping work related to building conversion activities will continue in all Quad buildings.
Build-out will continue for the Quad District Energy Plant in the basement of Emerson House.
Phase 3 – Central District
Exterior Site Work
- Sidewalk restorations near Washburn House will be completed at the end of June.
- Backfilling of trenched areas and installation of piping is ongoing near the Hubbard House parking lot. Patch paving of the parking lot is planned for the week of June 23, followed by paving and restoration of sidewalks and installation of loam.
- Trenching will continue north through the Ainsworth west parking lot. The Ainsworth south parking lot is open for parking via the southwest entrance.
- Installation of piping will continue toward Hatfield Hall from Neilson Library.
- Bore field drilling will continue at the athletic fields.
- The horizontal drilling operation is ongoing. Fusion of piping will continue at the project laydown area near Hospital Hill.
Interior Activities
- Foundation coring at Hatfield Hall will occur this week.
- Building conversion activities will continue in the basement of the Brown Fine Arts Center.
- Site utility work will occur for the future Central District Energy Plant. Steel erection is ongoing.
Inner Quad Access
From June 3 through August 24, the Inner Quad is not available as a shortcut to the King-Scales dining room as it is an active construction site. Be mindful of the signage and barriers restricting pedestrian access for your own safety. Please use Paradise Road or Kensington Ave to move between the buildings. Pedestrian walkways are noted with a green dotted line.
Central District Drilling Activity
From June 5-20, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. (except Sundays), drilling for the campus Geothermal project will occur on Tyler lawn and create intermittent, potentially distracting ‘hammering’ noise in the immediate area. The crew will drive 12 sections of 30-inch-diameter steel pipe (casing) into the ground over the two-week duration. Please see the graphic below for approximate sound levels relative to one’s proximity to Tyler Lawn.
Mitigation measures have been implemented to minimize noise pollution since the last version of this notification was shared on May 28, resulting in lower expected decibel levels than previously shared. Sound barrier panels are currently being installed on Tyler Lawn. The precise timing and duration of the noise are difficult to predict, as they depend on the soil and rock conditions.
- There will be 12 periods of hammering, each followed by less noisy periods of welding and general construction activities.
- Each hammering period will last approximately 1 to 4 hours, depending on the soil and rock encountered.
- Each welding / general construction period will last approximately 5 hours.
Learn more about the geothermal energy project and subscribe for construction updates at https://smithgeoenergy.info/. Please direct questions or comments to geoenergy@smith.edu.
