From: Ronnie Smith, Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance
Subject: Hurricane Katrina Recovery – Update #66
Posted: April 11, 2008

As part of our continuing efforts to improve the security and safety of the downtown and Dental School campuses, we will activate Access Control on Monday, April 14. All faculty, staff, students and MCLNO employees (for the downtown campus) will be able to access facilities with their ID cards at any time. The one exception will be ground floor access to the Allied Health/Nursing Building. This entry will only be available during “normal hours” until cameras can be installed and tested on the exterior of the doors and inside in the elevator lobby.

Normal working hours have been defined as Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM, excluding holidays. Access Control will be off during these hours, the regular entrances to buildings will be unlocked and everyone will be able to enter and exit campus buildings as they presently do. Outside of normal working hours (on weekends and holidays), the faculty member, staff person, or student must use their ID card for access. Readers are positioned at entry doors and elevators where Access Control is installed. By holding a current ID card to the reader, it will unlock the door and allow entry.

Entry via loading dock doors will be restricted to specifically authorized individuals and will not be for general access. There will be additional rooms or areas, such as specific core labs, animal care, data center, etc. where access will be restricted to specific authorized personnel.

Another aspect of the project to improve campus security is continuing. New exterior lights are being installed at and around the Student Residence Hall. The pole mounted lights surrounding the basketball courts have been installed and are in operation. New conduit, electrical cable and light fixtures are being installed underneath Interstate 10 to enhance the parking lot lighting behind the Residence Hall.

The work on the permanent repairs and hazard mitigation at the Lions/LSU Clinic Building is progressing well. The demolition on the 6th and 7th Floors is substantially completed. The framing of the walls for the new laboratory space is well underway and the rough in electrical work has begun. The layout of the walls on the 6th Floor is well underway and the framing has started. Work also continues on the dry flood proofing of the first elevator pit. The cleaning and repair of the flood damaged windows and window frames on the ground floor is well underway and should be completed in the near future.

A great deal of effort is being expended to allow the reoccupation of portions of 1542 Tulane Ave. The final remediation work is nearing completion. A substantial portion of the fire alarm system has been replaced and tested. The damaged floor tile has been removed and new carpet tiles, transition strips and base molding are being installed in spaces as the painters complete their work. The painting crews are moving rapidly to complete the significant amount of repainting that was needed to address the large volume of peeling paint throughout the building. The replacement of the ceiling tiles is progressing well. Trimming and fitting the edge and corner tiles has been time consuming, but three floors have already been completed. Repairs to three additional elevators are nearing completion and the contractor is engaged in the final testing and working the punch list to prepare for the final inspection.

The old Medical School Building is also having new light fixtures installed in the ceilings. Several truck loads of new fixtures have been received and staged in warehouses in town and large deliveries are periodically being made to the building. The ceiling fixture installers are currently at work on four of the upper floors. Truck loads of new furniture have also been delivered to the site and staged throughout the building. As spaces are prepared, (ceiling tile installed, painting complete, carpet installed, etc.) the furniture is being uncrated, assembled as necessary and installed. The project to upgrade the network infrastructure is also progressing on schedule.

The temporary bookstore at the Dental School is nearing completion. The construction is substantially complete, except for a recent change order to add additional electrical capacity to address future needs. Auxiliary Enterprises has the new slat wall and book store casework scheduled to be installed starting next week. Campus Federal Credit Union has installed its new ATM machine in the new location outside the Bookstore and removed the temporary equipment.

The repairs to Elevator # 8 at the Dental School have been substantially completed. The elevator was inspected by the State Elevator Inspector and certified for normal use. The contractor has some punch list items to complete, but they do not prevent use of the elevator. The repairs to the freight elevator required by the roof leaks in February are progressing well. We believe that the repairs may be completed within the next two weeks. The last few small buildings located on the back campus of the Dental School that were scheduled for demolition have been removed. Some debris remains to be removed and the final grading and seeding will be completed shortly.

The two permanent roof replacement projects are underway again. Crews on the Medical Education Building have completed the installation of the final layer of roof material on the penthouse roofs. They have also installed the first two layers on a substantial portion of the parapet wall. At the Dental School, a significant portion of the old roof on the Power Plant has been removed and the new insulation, deck board and granulated layer have been installed.

Here are highlights of work that has been accomplished since our last update was posted two weeks ago.

Lions/LSU Clinic Permanent Repairs and Mitigation:

• On Monday, March 24th, the contractor responsible for the Lions/LSU Clinics Building permanent repairs and mitigation project shut down Elevators #3 and #4 in order to begin dry flood-proofing the elevator pits. These modifications are being done to reduce damages and downtime in case of any future flood event.
  • The work on the pit for Elevators #3 and #4 will take approximately 8 weeks, during which time only Elevators #1 and #2 will be available for service.
  • Once the pit work is complete for Elevators #3 and #4, the elevators will be returned to service.
  • The contractor will then begin work on the pit for Elevators #1 and #2. The freight elevator pit will be the last one worked on.
• CMI completed the demolition of the bathroom floors on the 6th Floor.
  • All of the demolition on this floor has been completed.
• The crews are framing up the walls for the 7th Floor lab.
  • The electrical rough in has begun in this space.
• The layout for the new walls on the 6th Floor is finished and the framing for the new walls has started.
• Crews have been removing the metal trim and frames from around the exterior windows on the 1st Floor to start the cleaning and restoration process.
  • The metal frames and casing are being cleaned and the corrosion is being removed.
  • The metal is then painted with a protective coating.
  • The window units are cleaned and the entire window assembly is reinstalled.
• New shut off valves were installed in the 1st Floor bathrooms, the 6th Floor bathrooms and in the water lines on the 7th Floor so that old pipe can be removed and new pipe installed without requiring a shutdown of the entire building.

Repair Work at 1542 Tulane Ave.:

• Fire Alarm System:
  • The contractor finished installing new fire alarm devices on the 2nd Floor in the old section of the building on the I-10 side and behind the elevators on the 3rd Floor.
  • Siemens finished installing the fire alarm devices on the 2nd Floor in the old section of the building on the Charity side.
  • The contractor installed and tested the new fire alarm devices in the P-3 Lab on the 4th Floor roof.
  • The contractor connected and tested the monitoring points between the fire alarm panel and the automation panel.
  • Siemens installed smoke detectors in the elevator shaft of Elevator #8.
• Elevator Repairs:
  • Elevator #1:
    • They re-painted the elevator lobby doors on the 2nd Floor.
    • The contractor finished painting the floor in the elevator penthouse.
    • Stratos continued to work on punch-list items; cleaning the elevator doors, guides, and thresholds.
    • The elevator is being tested in preparation for the final inspection by the State Elevator Inspector.
  • Elevator #2:
    • They re-finished the elevator lobby doors on the 2nd Floor.
    • The contractor finished painting the floor in the elevator penthouse.
    • Stratos continued to work on punch-list items; cleaning the elevator doors, guides, and thresholds.
    • The elevator is being tested in preparation for the final inspection by the State Elevator Inspector.
  • Elevator #3:
    • They re-finished the elevator lobby doors on the 2nd Floor.
    • The contractor finished painting the floor in the elevator penthouse.
    • Stratos continued to work on punch-list items; cleaning the elevator doors, guides, and thresholds.
    • The elevator is being tested in preparation for the final inspection by the State Elevator Inspector.
  • Stratos technicians fire caulked the penetrations in the elevator shaft and penthouse.
• Final Remediation and Duct Cleaning:
  • Remediation:
    • Zimmer-Eschette finished cleaning on the 1st Floor in the old section of the building on the I-10 side.
    • Zimmer-Eschette began cleaning the corridor and elevator lobby on the 1st floor in the old section of the building.
    • Zimmer-Eschette is re-cleaning miscellaneous areas throughout the building on various floors in the old section of the building.
      • Cleaning in the corridor and elevator lobby on the 1st Floor in the old section of the building will resume as the re-cleaning is completed.
  • Painting:
    • 3rd Floor:
      • The painters have finished applying paint in the offices along the center corridor. 
      • The contractor continues to apply finish paint in the offices along Tulane Ave.
    • 2nd Floor:
      • The contractor finished priming the corridor walls and offices along Tulane Ave.
      • The priming in the offices along the center corridor is complete.
      • The painting contractor finished applying paint in the offices along the center corridor.
      • Painters are applying the finish paint in the offices along Tulane Ave.
      • They are applying finish paint in the offices along the center corridor.
    • 1st Floor:
      • They finished priming the walls in the offices along the center corridor.
      • The painters finished painting the offices along the center corridor.
      • They are applying touch-up paint in the mezzanine offices.
  • Floor Tile Removal:
    • The contractor finished removing floor tile from the 1st Floor in the old section of the building on both the Charity and the I-10 side of the building.
  • Ceiling Tile Replacement:
    • The crews have finished trimming and installing the edge and corner tiles on the 7th Floor.
    • The contractor finished trimming and installing the edge and corner ceiling tiles on the 6th Floor.
    • The contractor finished trimming and installing the edge and corner ceiling tiles on the 5th Floor.
    • The contractor began trimming and installing the edge and corner ceiling tiles on the 4th Floor.
  • Carpet Installation:
    • Royerre Commercial Carpet has finished installing carpet tiles, transitions, and cove base on the 8th Floor.
    • Royerre is installing new carpet tiles, transition strips, and cove base on the 7th Floor.
    • They have finished installing carpet tiles, transitions, and cove base on the 6th Floor.
    • They have finished installing carpet tiles, transitions, and cove base on the 5^th Floor.
    • The Royerre installers finished installing the carpet tiles on the 4th Floor.
      • They are installing cove base and transition strips on the 4th Floor.
  • Network Upgrades:
    • Boe-Tel finished constructing the new network rack for the 3rd Floor network closet.
      • Boe-Tel finished terminating the station cables in the offices on the 3rd Floor along the Tulane Ave. side of the building.
    • Trison Constructors began work on the change order to expand the 4th Floor network closet.
      • Their crews framed the closet and installed new sheetrock on the walls.
      • They installed the new sprinkler heads and plywood backboard.
    • Boe-Tel completed the installation and termination of new station cables on the 6th Floor.
    • Boe-Tel completed the installation and termination of new station cables on the 8th Floor.
    • The contractor terminated and tested the wiring and connections for the 1st Floor network closet.
  • New Furniture:
    • Herman Miller Group delivered several loads of new furniture and staged it throughout Floors 5 through 8.
    • New furniture is being installed in the offices along the center corridor on the 6^th, 7th and 8th Floors.
  • Ceiling Light Fixtures:
    • Approximately 12 pallets of new light fixtures were delivered to the site.
    • The contractor has crews working on the installation of the new ceiling light fixtures on the 5th, 6th, and 7th Floors.

  Repair Work at the Dental School:

  • Permanent Roof Repairs:
    • Needham Roofing received additional roofing materials for the Administration Building Penthouse and the Power Plant.
    • The installation of the granulized 2nd ply has been completed on the Administration Building penthouse roof.
    • Crews have removed 23 squares (one square equals 100 square feet) of the old roofing material from the Power Plant.
      • They have installed the new insulation, decking and the granulated 2nd ply material over the prepared areas.
  • Temporary Bookstore:
    • Sherlocks Construction tested the fire alarm system in the temporary bookstore and verified the connection with the building fire alarm system in preparation for the State Fire Marshal inspection.
    • The slat-wall and bookstore furniture installation is underway. 
    • Campus Federal Credit Union installed the permanent ATM in the vestibule of the temporary bookstore. 
      • The temporary machine that has been located in the breezeway will be removed tomorrow.
  • Elevator Repairs:
    • Elevator #8:
      • Schindler installed hand rails and electrical covers for Elevator #8 in the Administration Building.
      • The repairs to Elevator #8 have been completed.
        • The State Elevator Inspector has certified the elevator for normal use.
      • The contractor is completing the punch list.
    • Freight Elevator:
      • Schindler continued to wire the new switches for the freight elevator.
      • They also worked on wiring the controller.
    • Schindler installed new handrails in Elevator #4 and prepped Elevator #3 for the installation of new handrails. 
    • Schindler continues working on the punch list for Elevators # 6, #7, and #8.
  • Demolition:
    • HDC Building 119 (Barracks)
      • The building has been demolished and the debris has been removed.
      • The site has been backfilled and sand has been spread.
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • HDC Administration Building 138 (Barracks)
      • The building has been demolished and the debris has been removed.
      • The concrete sidewalk has been demolished.
      • The site has been backfilled and sand has been spread.
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • HDC Building 124 (Day Care)
      • The site has been backfilled and sand has been spread.
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • HDC Building 180 (Library)
      • The site has been backfilled and sand has been spread.
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • HDC Building 100 (Storage Building)
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • Storage Barn
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • Disposal Facility
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • Auto Shop
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
    • Green House
      • Grading and seeding has been completed.
      • The work has been completed and the punch list provided to the contractor.
  • Misc.:
    • Sherlocks Construction began running conduit for the transformer and circuit panels that will expand the electrical capacity for future power requirements in the Bookstore and Library.

  MEB Roof Replacement:

  • Crawford has completed the installation of the mineral surface modified cap sheet (final layer) on all the penthouse roofs.
  • Crawford completed installing most of the base smooth modified torch grade layer (the first of two layers before the installation of the metal cap) on the perimeter of the parapet wall.
  • Crawford started installing the Mineral Surface Modified Cap sheet on the main roof above the loading dock.

  Downtown Landscaping Project:

  • Crews removed broken concrete in front of the 1542 Tulane Ave. front steps in preparation to install sleeves for the irrigation pipe and valve control wires.
  • The crews installed nozzles on all of the sprinklers around the Residence Hall and fully activated the system to run according to the programming on the controller. 
  • They started the final grading on the Perdido St. side of the Residence Hall.
  • The crews removed all the existing vegetation on the Perdido St. side of the Residence Hall in preparation for installing new plants.
  • They started removing the existing vegetation on the Perdido St. side of the MEB.

  Exterior Lighting Project:

  • Frischhertz is installed conduit and lights around the base of the basketball court at the Residence Hall.
    • The light poles are up, the electrical service has been installed and the lights are operating.
  • Frischhertz is installing conduit and wire for lights that will be installed under I-10 in the Residence Hall parking lot.

  We encourage you to follow the details of our progress through the daily updates which are posted on the web site.