Residents who thought they felt an earthquake on College Avenue this morning should rest easy.
The brief, yet powerful shake was due to blasting crews that are removing part of the Henderson South building on Penn State’s campus in order to build a new, 92,000 square-foot Health and Human Development building.
To minimize the longer and louder alternative of jack hammering, crews are using sub-grade blasting to excavate rocks for the project.
“This is less disruptive than other approaches to getting the job done,” says Paul Ruskin, communications coordinator for the university’s Office of the Physical Plant. Ruskin says the use of periodic blasts also saves students who are trying to study from the continuous pounding of jack hammers, which might distract them from academics.
The blasting began July 22 and will continue until Aug. 16. Blasting activity will occur from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 to 2:45 p.m. during these days. Crews will be stopping traffic on College Avenue near the site for no longer than the time an average red light takes, Ruskin says, to limit distracted driving. Crews will also be redirecting pedestrians away from the site as a safety precaution.
“It’s about preventative safety and awareness,” Ruskin says. “It’s not like there’s going to be debris flying onto the road.”
The $59-million project began last December, and crews are trying to get as much work done as possible on it during the summer.
The new building is scheduled to be finished by June 2015.
