PROJECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Western Carolina
University to start work on
$110M science building
Western Carolina University is
preparing to start construction of a
new 182,989-sq.ft., six story build-
ing. The $110-million structure,
named Tom Apodaca Science
Building, will replace WCU’s exist-
ing, 1970s-era Natural Sciences
Building. Construction will begin
later this year and be completed in
June 2021.
The building will include five sto-
ries of laboratory, classroom, as-
sembly and office space, with the
sixth story serving as a “mechanical
penthouse.” It will feature a large,
150-person lecture hall, a science
commons area on the first floor
and a rooftop plaza for astronomy
observations. Patricia Kaemmerling, current
chair of WCU’s trustees, character-
ized the Tom Apodaca Science
Building as “a transformative facil-
ity.” “This building will offer Western
Carolina University’s students the
high-quality classrooms and labora-
tories necessary for a 21st-century
education,” Kaemmerling said,
adding that the “building also will
serve as a hub for regional eco-
nomic development in Western
North Carolina, capitalizing on the
expertise of Western Carolina’s fac-
ulty.” The ceremony included a bless-
ing delivered by Tom Belt, coordina-
tor of WCU’s Cherokee Language
Program, in recognition of the
building’s location on a site of cul-
tural significance to the Eastern
Band of Cherokee Indians.
Duke Hospital plans
$102.4M expansion
Duke Regional Hospital is plan-
ning a $102.4 million expansion, in-
cluding a bigger emergency
department and more facilities for
psychiatric patients, officials from
the Duke University Health System
say. The project will take three
years and require construction on
the north end of the county-owned
hospital. Duke also needs to secure
permission from state regulators
before moving 19 beds for psychi-
atric patients from Duke University
Hospital to Duke Regional.
When finished, the expansion
will give the renovated emergency
department 49 treatment rooms,
rather than the present 36, and 12
private observation rooms in place
of the existing six.
The behavioral-health or psychi-
atric program will get an emer-
gency department of its own with
18 beds. It’ll also have 30 clinic
rooms for treating outpatients and
42 beds for patients whose treat-
ment requires hospitalization.
Those numbers include the beds
transferred from Duke University
Hospital. Vecillio & Grogan wins
$5.7M Polk County
bridges contract
The N.C. Department of Trans-
portation (NCDOT) has contracted
to build two new bridges on U.S. 74
near Pea Ridge Rd. in Polk County,
according to a report in Blue Ridge
Now. The two-lane roadway below
U.S. 74 will connect John Shehan
Rd. to property north of the high-
way in Polk County.
12 — March-April 2018 — The North Carolina Construction News
Vecellio & Grogan was selected
to perform the bridge work for $5.7
million. Construction is expected to be
completed late this summer in time
for the World Equestrian Games,
which will be held at Tryon Interna-
tional Equestrian Center in Mill
Spring, according to the report.
NCDOT awards two
contracts to replace six
bridges in eastern
mountain counties
NCDOT says it has awarded two
contracts to replace a total of six
bridges in eastern mountain coun-
ties. Blythe Development of Charlotte
has been awarded a $2.6 million
contract to replace a bridge on N.C.
194 over Old Field Creek and a
bridge on Tweetsie Railroad Lane
over Middle Fork of the South Fork
New River with culverts.
The work should be complete by
September of 2019. The project on
N.C. 194 in Lansing will have a
marked onsite detour, while the
work near Tweetsie Railroad will be
constructed beside the existing
bridge. James Vannoy & Sons Construc-
tion of Jefferson has been awarded
a $4.05 million contract to replace
four bridges: On Hartzog Ford Rd.
over Beaver Creek in Ashe County;
Abington Road over Greasy Creek
in Caldwell County; Dobbins Mill
Road over Snow Creek in Surry
County; and Neelie Rd. over South
Deep Creek in Yadkin County.
The bridge on Hartzog Ford Rd.
will be completed in stages, and
the bridge on Abington Rd. will be
built adjacent to the existing struc-
ture. The bridges on Dobbins Mill
Rd. and Neelie Rd. will require off-
site detours when construction be-
gins. The replacement work on these
four bridges may also begin on
Monday, Feb. 26 and should be
complete by October of 2019.