Asbestos removal in the Doudna Fine Arts Center is on schedule while work on the new Human Services building is about a week behind schedule.

Rex Hilligoss, architect for facilities planning and management, said crews had no problems removing asbestos from the Doudna Fine Arts Center that started in August. He said he expects the removal will be complete by Dec. 12, and the building will then be available for a walk-through for bidders on that date.

The next step for the building will be to make plans to receive bids, accept a contractor and start construction by early or mid-March, Hilligoss said.

“We hope to have everything going by mid-March,” he said. “When construction starts, it will be a continuing process.”

The Human Services building construction, however, is not running as smoothly as the asbestos removal, but Karl Helmink, architectural mechanical engineer for facilities planning and management, said he still expects a timely completion of the project.

Since work began earlier this fall, crews have installed under-floor plumbing systems as well as electrical and mechanical equipment in the basement mechanical room.

“The electricians took an electrical outage on the South Quad last Tuesday to make provisions to connect this to the campus system,” Helmink said.

Currently, crews are erecting the steel frame of the building and preparing for the rest of the first floor concrete to be poured, he said.

After the rest of the concrete is poured and the frame is finished, masonry block walls will be erected on the east end of the building and a connection to the existing steam tunnel on the west side of the building will be made. Helmink said he expects this project will stretch construction to the South Quad sidewalk. He said the new building will be substantially completed by May 16 and completion is set for June 16, 2003.