Earth moving for new engineering complex

HUNTINGTON -- Earth is moving and big trucks are on the site of Marshall University's new applied engineering complex along 3rd Avenue.

Construction on the 145,000-square-foot facility started in November, after the former parking lot was closed. At this point, officials said construction crews are working on putting in the deep foundation which will help support the four-story structure.

The first shipment of steel is scheduled for mid-April. The complex is forecasted to be under roof by the end of 2013, though the project as a whole is expected to take 28 months.

The Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex is located on 3rd Avenue between the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center and the Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratories. It will be one of the largest buildings on campus, housing students in the university's engineering program, which now has 600 students.

The new complex will house six different academic components and programs, including the College of Information Technology and Engineering and its divisions of engineering, computer science, applied science and technology; Mechanical, Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering Research Laboratories; Departments of Mathematics and Computational Science; Computer Modeling and Digital Imaging/ Simulation Resource Facility; Transportation Research Corporation; and the Marshall University Research Corp.