Four months after the remains of Hurricane Ike swept through Southern Indiana, damaging several buildings at IU Southeast, contracts have been awarded to begin the repairs.
“We’ve been working with Risk Management and wit Federal Emergency Management Agency to get all of the documentation done,” Bob Snip, Physical Plant Director, said. “That was completed this past week.”
Five buildings sustained damage from the winds of Hurricane Ike on Sept. 14, 2008: The IUS Library, the Activities Building, the Life Science Building, Crestview Hall and Knobview Hall.
Temporary repairs have been completed on Crestview Hall, the Activities Building, the Life Science Building and the IUS Library.
Merrick-Kemper, a Louisville-based sheet metal contracting company, was already working at the campus for a Repair and Rehabilitation contract on Hillside Hall. When the storm hit, they agreed to make emergency repairs on the damaged buildings.
“We were very, very fortunate that they were doing our roofing job here because it would have been next to impossible due to the amount of damage throughout the area,” Snip said.
The Life Science Building lost the entire roof on the west side leaving nothing but rafters protecting the building’s rooms. Merrick-Kemper used plywood and plastic as a temporary roof until permanent repairs could be made.
Plywood and plastic was also used to repair the Activities Building, which suffered the most damage.
Crestview Hall’s western roof was nearly blown completely off. The copper roof was rolled back down and secured but a new roof is set to be installed when repairs begin.
Knobview Hall, which sustained the least amount of damage, was completely repaired by Merrick-Kemper while they did the emergency repairs on the other buildings.
The delay in repairs is a result of the IUS Office of Risk Management, which handles damage repair claims, acquiring the money allocated from FEMA.
Winter weather also poses another threat of delaying repairs. The rubber membrane under the copper roofing uses a water soluble solution as an adhesive which requires a temperature of at least 55 degrees to be effective, Snip said.
Contracts for final repairs on Crestview, Life Science and the library have already been awarded.
Judy House, office manager for Upton Pry Inc., a general contracting company in New Albany, said that as soon as they receive the contract from the IU Architect’s Office and Engineering Services they will contact Merrick-Kemper to begin the work.
If the weather cooperates, the repairs could begin as soon as the contracts are received.
“We have the materials and we’re ready to roll,” John Thompson, a manager at Merrick-Kemper, said.
The temporary repairs have left some concerns about their effectiveness during rain or snow.
The only problem with the temporary repairs lies with the Activities Building. Due to the amount of the original roof that was blown off and the subsequent removal of additional portions for the emergency repairs, the roof sometimes collects water during periods of heavy precipitation.
“The rest of [the repairs] are water tight so we shouldn’t have any problems with them at all,” Snip said.
While contracts for the other damaged buildings have already been awarded, the Activities Building contract is going to take more time because of the extent of the damage.
“That one is going to take a little bit longer just because we’re replacing [the entire] on that building,” Snip said.
The contract for the repairs on the Activities Building is being sent out through the campus’s Repair and Rehabilitation. R&R is funding that comes from the state for major upgrades or repairs.
Luckett & Farley, a local design company, did the drawings for the new roof which were sent to the IU Architect’s Office and Engineering Services for final approval. The bid for the contract is expected to go out next week.
Due to the recession, there isn’t expected to be a shortage of bids for the Activities Building repairs.
Since Risk Management is handling the contract, a cheap bid will leave more state funds available for future projects.
“We really look to have a favorable bid on the Activities Building due to the downturn in the economy,” Snip said.
The tennis courts, baseball field and the softball field also sustained damage from the hurricane winds.
Repairs on the softball field have been completed and most of the work on the tennis courts has been completed.
“If the weather had not dropped down the fencing contractor would have been out here this week to finish the baseball field,” Snip said.
By TRAVIS STURGILL
Staff Writer
trsturgi@ius.edu