By
Brett Erickson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Underground freshmen facility might not open until spring 2002 instead of next fall
Construction of the ILC, originally slated for completion next May, is more than two months behind schedule and will likely not be completed in time for freshmen to use next fall, UA construction officials said yesterday.
Brian Dolan, University of Arizona construction project manager for the Integrated Learning Center, said a few surprises along with the complexity of the project are the primary causes behind the delay.
"This is the first time we've ever done something like this underground," he said following a one-hour tour attended by UA President Peter Likins and about 20 other people.
Instead of being open for the Fall 2001 semester as originally planned, Dolan said spring of 2002 is a more realistic estimate. Working in the center of campus during the school year and having limited access to the site - two points of construction entry - both helped create the delay, he said.
Dolan added that construction workers were also slowed down a little by an unknown pipe found during excavation and rain falloff from the Main Library.
Likins, who hadn't been in the construction site since its excavation last fall, said he was both disappointed about the delay and pleased with the facility's progress.
"I'd sure rather it open in the fall," he said. "I am disappointed, but I do understand enough about construction and it is extremely difficult, so I'm not surprised."
Dolan said the biggest obstacle facing Target General Inc. - the company contracted to build the facility - and ILC workers is completing the concrete work, which they've already begun to work toward. He estimated it would take about nine months to finish the project once the concrete has been laid, although he didn't know when that date would be.
If the project runs late through no fault of the university, TGI would be fined $1,500 per day, Dalen said.
During the tour, some people, including UA spokeswoman Sharon Kha, brought up the possibility of opening up the completed parts of the ILC before the entire completion. Likins and Dolan, though, said that might prove to be difficult.
"We've been holding our breath a long time, we might as well hold our breath until the whole thing is done," Likins told Kha.
Lynne Tronsdal, UA associate dean of the University College, agreed that university officials should not open the ILC if the entire structure is not completed.
"We have to protect the mission of the building," she said.
Despite the news about the delay, Likins said he was impressed with the makeup of the project as it progresses. In particular, he said he liked the open courtyard which will give students a view of the UA Mall at ground level and the Administration building.
"I think that will attract people not just to go to class, but to sit under the shade of the trees," he said.
Other aspects that impressed the onlookers included several skylights that will give students and faculty members the chance to take in natural light. Near the west end of the ILC, which features one 300-seat lecture hall and three 150-seat rooms, a large glass skylight will allow the sun to shine inside the building.
"The building is going to have a lot of daylight in it, even though it's underground," said Jim Gresham, principal architect for Gresham & Beach, the firm that designed the ILC.
One area that workers have been concentrating on a lot this week is the intersection of North Cherry Avenue and the UA Mall. Dolan said officials will be working tonight to make sure Cherry Avenue is open to pedestrians at tomorrow night's Arizona-Ohio State football game at Arizona Stadium.
About 20,000 people use Cherry Avenue to walk to and from each home game, he said.
