Despite soaring temperatures and the dog days of summer, the expansion at Scott Stadium continues to remain on schedule.
"The heat slows down the work in the afternoon," said Richard Laurance, director of the Carl Smith Center Expansion at Scott Stadium. "When it's over 100 degrees like the last couple of days, it has a tendency to slow down things.
"They tend to come in earlier which makes up for some of that," he said.
The area below the seating where Bryant Hall once stood continues on pace as well. The new building, of which the concrete bleachers are the roof, will house the locker rooms, press area and referees area.
"We looking for the completion of the seating bowl of the lower section," Laurance said. "It's getting close. The handicap seating should be in by the end of this month."
All the vital components for a football game will be fully operational by Sept. 18 for the opener against Wake Forest.
"We'll be able to open the locker rooms, the referees area and the press area," Laurance said. "That'll be it for this year."
Beyond the lower deck's seating bowl, the most noticeable progress can be noted by the lighting system. Two of four light poles have been erected and the lights have been mounted. The third pole is nearly complete as well. Each structure has support beams that from a large "V" shape.
Fourth-year Engineering student Kevin Berger, who works for the expansion project this summer, said that the architects would not indicate whether the "V" was intentionally done. He also pointed out that each individual light must be pointed at a specific spot on the field.
"We will be the first ACC school to be up to ESPN standards on the whole field," said Laurance, of the new lighting.
Berger's focus is on the paving and plaza issues of the expansion. The brick walkway and wall nearest Alderman Road should be in place by the season. The pergola will not be added until next year.
"We'll have the new plaza ready, but not the pergola," Laurance said.
The remaining aspect of summer construction will fall under preparation. With the home opener slated for Sept. 18, the crews will need to clean up and prepare Scott Stadium for the season.
"Three to four weeks before the season, we'll shift efforts from the construction effort to getting ready for the first game," Laurance said. "We will put in temporary paving, temporary fencing--there are just a whole host of preparations."
Click here for additional pictures of the construction.
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