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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Controlled blasting to begin at SEH construction site

Controlled blasts at the Science and Engineering Hall construction site are slated to begin in mid-March. | Hatchet File Photo

Controlled blasting will begin at the Science and Engineering Hall construction site in mid-March.

The typically noisy construction technique will mostly take place between 10:30 and 11 a.m., according to an e-mail sent by the Office of the Dean of Students to residents of JBKO, Munson, Fulbright and Madison halls.

The Metropolitan Police Department will guide temporary road closures just before and during each set of blasts.

Blaring air horns will signal the start of the blasting to notify workers and the public 15 minutes, five minutes and one minute ahead of the activity, according to the e-mail. One horn after will sound afterward. The vibrations and noise from the blasts will be comparable to a door slamming or large truck driving driving by.

“First, let us stress that these activities are highly monitored to ensure they fall within the regulated limits and do not adversely affect any adjacent structures,” the e-mail read. “The university has undertaken numerous safety and security measures, including extensive site analysis.”

GW has placed seismographs in nearby buildings to track vibrations during the blasting to make sure the blasts are within acceptable safety limits.

The notice recommended that residents in buildings near the construction site shut their windows because the blasting “agitates soil.”

University spokeswoman Jill Sankey said soil conditions will determine the exact date blasts will begin, but the projection is mid-March or later.

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