As the UA continues renovations all over campus, student-friendly policies will help minimize construction annoyances.
Of the 70 new facilities projects at the UA, 18 are currently in the construction phase, according to the Facilities Design and Construction Web site.
With each new construction project on the UA campus, more attention is directed toward keeping it less intrusive for the students, said Gerald Boat, a superintendent for Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
"We're trying to keep most of the loud operations within the non-school months," he said.
Wetting the ground to control dust, having delivery trucks arrive between classes and operating jackhammers after 9 a.m. are a few of the policies the company has adopted to keep commotion to a minimum, Boat said.
Boat oversees the chemistry building expansion, a project that started last year and is scheduled to wrap up in the middle of next year, according to the Web site.
To minimize the smell of tar, an 8,000-pound kettle filled with roofing material will be hoisted to the top of the building with the help of a 124-foot crane. This way, the tar and the smell will remain far away from students' noses at ground level.
When completed, the new building will sport bridges to the Marvel and old chemistry buildings. The new facility is strictly designed for research, said Scott Dreisbach, laboratory manager for the old chemistry building.
Dreisbach said the new facility is a step up from the current building.
"There's not even any hot water in this building," Dreisbach said. "It's not even plumbed for that."
Other improvements are also planned.
"I know they're getting waterless urinals," Dreisbach said. "That'll be cool."
Increased education costs have concerned some students as to the origin of project funding.
"I'm curious to where the money comes from because they're always raising tuition," Rankin said.
The chemistry building expansion project carries a price tag of $43 million, which is funded through state money and certificates of participation, said Melissa Dryden, program coordinator for the facilities design and construction department.
The funds for the new chemistry building are part of the $182.2 million that is being allotted to the UA for "various research infrastructure projects," according to HB2529.
Other UA projects benefiting from HB 2529 are the Arizona Heath Systems Center, Phase One of the Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnology building, and Phase One of the Medical Research building.
The $17 million for the Meinel Optical Sciences building expansion was paid for through funds from Proposition 301 and through grants secured by the department, Dryden said.
The upcoming Arizona State Museum Southwest Ceramic Preservation project carries a $2.5 million budget that is funded through a combination of federal funds and gift funding.
Some recent UA construction projects were also funded through gift funding. Last year's completion of the $3.7 million Alumni Plaza was funded through the Alumni Association.
Although construction can create an obstacle for students, not all students and parents are bothered by the projects.
"I don't have a problem with it," said Chelden Frost-Dixon, a psychology freshman.
"Everything looks nice," said Frost-Dixon's father, Albert Dixon. "Beautiful school, beautiful campus."
For Lela Rankin, however, construction projects were always something to work around.
"It slows me down when getting to meetings," said the family studies and human development graduate student.