Construction 1998: A boom year comes to an end

tudents for years have been saying that Missouri's school color should be orange because of all the pumpkin-colored fencing around the campus. Those cries turned louder in 1998 as MU was swept away in a construction tidal wave.

This wave, however, will help bring MU into the next millennium. Projects in 1998 totaled nearly $90 million, including more than $67 million that went toward nine projects.

"It's been a busy and extremely challenging year for construction management, the same as it was for project management at the front end of this work," said Don Guckert, director of Planning, Design & Construction. "It's dramatic how far we've come in a short time and how much we have to show for it."

Catch a wave

The $140 million worth of projects worked on in F Y97 happened as a matter of chance. Many of the projects, such as the utility improvements on the Francis Quadrangle and White Campus, were years in the making, while others were relatively new. Each, however, was driven by finances to begin roughly at the same time. With the funds available to replace 20-year-old pipes and upgrade buildings into the next century, PD&C wasted no time.

"Spikes in the construction totals graphs are fickle,'' Guckert said. "I like to look at this as a five-year snapshot. If you assume we are in the middle of a five-year window, it would total approximately $350 million or about $60 to $70 million per year. The bottom line is that's pretty healthy and active."

To put these dollar amounts in perspective, the original funding designated in 1839 for the establishment of the university was $100,000; its first building, Academic Hall, built in 1843 cost $75,000.

One-hundred-fifty-five years later, MU is in the process of constructing a Critical Care Addition, which alone costs $46 million.

Building a Better Mizzou

Each renovation and construction project, and two utility improvements, were unique in size, scope and difficulty.

The first project completed, in April 1998, was the Chemistry Building Addition. This long-overdue structure was the first major upgrade since the 1930s of MU's chemistry facilities.

As the Chemistry Building Addition neared completion, the White Campus and Francis Quadrangle Utility projects were beginning. Both highly-invasive projects ripped up landmark areas of the campus. Although, over the summer, they were daily hassles for students and faculty, both projects help to create a new utility infrastructure, setting the stage in the coming years for air-conditioning and other conveniences.

In May, the Audrey J. Walton Track-Soccer Field-Stadium was completed. A deadline to have the project completed so that MU could host the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, along with poor weather conditions caused by the El Niño phenomenon, imposed difficulties on the project.

June through August, then, was the most active period of the year — seven projects were completed: Connaway Hall Renovation, Telecommunications Addition, Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building, and the Black Culture Resource Center were opened in June; Dan Devine Pavilion/Dutton Brookfield Addition and Hitt Street Parking Garage were opened in July; and the Jesse Hall Exterior Repair & Restoration were opened in August. "This was one of the most challenging times for us. Not only were we extremely busy completing these buildings, but we were dealing with the disruptive utility projects on campus,'' said Guckert. "Campus Facilities did a great job with communication and preparing the campus for what was coming. No one was surprised when the corridor was torn up. It was handled very well."

While most talk centered on the high-profile Jesse Hall and Francis Quadrangle utility projects, it was the Dan Devine Pavilion and the Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building that provided more problems for PD&C.

"Schedule-wise the Dan Devine Pavilion was the most challenging as we had to have it done for coach (Larry) Smith in time for the football season," Guckert said. "Anheuser-Busch was challenging in terms of design because it was such a large, intricate structure."

The next wave

Although 1999 may not be the monster year of building that 1998 was, construction costs will still be well above $30 million.

The top project in 1999 to be completed is the $46 million Critical Care Addition. This project, which began Nov. 1996, is the most expensive structure to date.

Other projects that will wrap up in 1999 are the Bicycle Trail ($600,000); resurfacing of the Hearnes Center indoor track ($500,000); Schlundt/Chemistry Renovation ($8.9 million); Eckles Hall Addition ($7 million) and White Campus Greenhouse.

"We may not see the numbers we saw in 1998 again for awhile, but we will still be busy,'' Guckert said.

Photos of 1998 construction projects