The weather has been frigid and frosty, not unusual for January, but despite the snow and storms construction continues on site of the Zoo’s new African Penguin Exhibit. The Whiting-Turner team has made the best of what mother nature has had to offer and are working on all aspects of building construction that they can during what has been a fairly challenging winter.
The main public building, The Penguin Interpretive Center, continues to evolve with basement work and main level concrete taking shape. Footers for the Penguin holding building are also in place and the new bait shack is now standing with roof and awning work underway.
The biggest challenge on site has been the moisture levels in the ground as mud has been thick and difficult to maneuver given the digging and transport that is still necessary around the main construction area. While some work will wait until the weather warms, much of the concrete and basement interior finishing in the main life support area is moving forward despite the cold. Take a look at some of the most recent pics from the site with Perry the penguin. He’s been on site since the beginning of construction back in June.
The project remains on track to be completed in time for a fall 2014 opening and once winter weather begins to wain we’ll have a better sense of the exact opening date and look forward to sharing that with you. For now, we’ll continue share more construction updates and new time lapse video as it becomes available.
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