NIH Record - National Institutes of Health

Large-Scale Construction Continues on Campus

Excavated construction site surrounding a cement mixer
Future home of an industrial water system

Photo:  Carla Garnett

Entrance to construction site with fence gate open
On the Fire Station side, erection of the new Northwest Child Care Center, Bldg. 23, is under way.

Photo:  Carla Garnett

Portion of road fenced in with white concrete barriers
On the Safra Family Lodge side of the street, utility tunnel construction that began in April is on target to finish in December. A portion of Center Dr. is temporarily fenced in with white concrete barriers, preventing pedestrian traffic and narrowing vehicular use of the road.

Photo:  Carla Garnett

Overhead view of construction projects
A birdseye view of the northwest quadrant of campus, where two work zones occupy Center Dr., near the NIH Fire Station.

Photo:  Carla Garnett

Construction site hole with crane
Hole where the second and larger of two new water towers—a thermal energy storage system—will be built

Photo:  Carla Garnett

Dirt mound at construction site
A new water tower will be constructed on this spot.

Photo:  Carla Garnett

Several large-scale construction projects on the Bethesda campus have surged forward in recent weeks. Excavation continues at both sites of the Assure/Expand Chilled Water Capacity project. 

In the southeast quadrant, a large section of parking lot 41 is fenced in, off limits to vehicular and pedestrian traffic. That’s the future home of a 5-million-gallon water tank—an industrial water system—being built to help NIH’s Central Utility Plant in an emergency power shutdown. [For details, see https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2016/03/11/construction-begins-water-thermal-storage-systems] Campus shuttle buses now operate on a modified route through the area. 

In the center of campus, where Lincoln Dr., Convent Dr. and Service Rd. West meet, the shell of Bldg. 34 has gradually disappeared, replaced by a sizable hole where the second and larger of two new water towers—a thermal energy storage system—will be erected. 

Both towers are looking at October 2017 completion estimates.

The NIH Record

The NIH Record, founded in 1949, is the biweekly newsletter for employees of the National Institutes of Health.

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