3/23/99

11,000 pound roof installed on TC's latest belltower

Tuesday morning, Mar.23, workers used a crane to lift a massive, roughly octagonal roof onto a belltower in the new Niswonger Commons. The roof is one of the last remaining structural pieces to be assembled.

The roof , with a diameter of 24 feet , is composed of structural steel, a metal deck and an inch and a half of roofing insulation covered by three-fourths an inch of plywood and dimensional shingles. According to a scale on the crane, the roof weighs 11,000 pounds.

The photo montage below shows the roof's ascent into the sky and descent onto the tower. The sixth picture shows a flag that flew from the top of the tower when the roof was finally positioned.

Mass media professor Wess duBrisk (foreground) and WJHL-News Channel 11 cameraman Tim Davis caught the action for posterity.

Background:
The Niswonger Commons is a $12 million construction project that includes a sports center that was opened in the spring of 1998, a student activity center, and extensive renovations to existing structures--the Simerly Union Building and Pioneer Gymnasium.

Phase I of the project--the Sports Center--includes the 2,000-seat Alpine Arena and a state-of-the-art weight room and fitness center. It includes classrooms and other facilities for the physical education major and the athletic training major.

Phase II, which should be completed in August or September, will include a two-story campus living room, offices for student organizations and student services, a fitness/game room, the campus TV and radio stations, and classrooms. Included in Phase II is the renovation of the Simerly Union Building, which will include an improved cafeteria and dining facilities, classrooms, and a coffeehouse. Also included is the renovation of Pioneer Gymnasium, which will be used as a practice facility and for intramural athletics.

Merit Construction Inc. of Knoxville is in charge of the project.

The entire Commons complex has been named the Niswonger Commons in recognition of the generous commitment of $5 million to the project by Scott M. Niswonger, chairman and CEO of Landair Services, Inc. of Greeneville, Tennessee. Niswonger is a member of the Tusculum College Board of Trustees and a 1987 graduate of the College's Professional Studies Program.