An exterior view of the entrance to the Nonproliferation and International Security Center highlights the glass lobby and the complementary design elements with next door’s Nicholas C. Metropolis Center for Modeling and Simulation. Landscaping is underway and exterior and interior finish work is nearly completed.
| With construction of the new Nonproliferation and International Security Center now 85 percent complete, the project is about to enter its final stages of interior finish work and installation of furnishings. As the NISC project nears completion a new construction project is set to begin next door on the Decision Applications (D) Division Office Building, to be located just to the west of the NISC at Technical Area 3. Both the NISC and D-Division projects will have some additional impact on traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, for the next few weeks, according to NISC project manager Bill Hamilton. “Building new facilities always involves some inconveniences and I appreciate everyone’s willingness to accommodate them,” said Hamilton. “In a relatively short time the new facilities will be great additions to the Laboratory’s capabilities and will be well worth the inconveniences we are now experiencing.” With exterior work nearly completed and landscaping activities beginning in earnest, the new curbs, gutters and sidewalks will begin to go in on the boundaries of both Mercury Road and Bikini Atoll Road. This will require the use of the edge of the roadways for construction. Orange markers will be utilized in accordance with Laboratory traffic safety plans to warn motorists of hazardous areas. Pedestrians are urged to use competed sidewalks and not to walk alongside the orange markers. The furniture installation process for the NISC will involve the use of approximately 50 tractor-trailer trucks bringing furniture to the back loading dock of the NISC. The trucks will partially block Mercury Road during the off-loading process and flag persons will be on scene to direct traffic around the trucks. The current construction start date for the D-Division building is Sept. 20 and should be completed by the end of June 2003, weather permitting. Shortly after the D-Division construction start date, pending Department of Energy approval, construction should begin on the Nonproliferation and International Security (NIS) Division annex. Both buildings will be located west of the NISC at the intersection of Mercury and Bikini Atoll roads. These construction projects will create a normal amount of construction vehicle traffic. Finally, the construction fence around the NISC will start coming down over the next few months and will be replaced with less substantial barriers. NISC project management reminds employees that only personnel qualified and appropriately dressed for construction sites may enter the area until the project is fully complete. The $63 million project began with the design phase in February 2000; construction started in March 2001. The NISC building should be completed in January and house about 450 employees in 164,000 square feet of office and laboratory space. |   |