Labor strikes, weather and some material holdups have caused only minor delays in the progress of the construction of Howe Hall, according to Dean McCormick, an engineer at facilities planning and management.

The projected finish date for phase one of the $61 million engineering building is August 1999, which is earlier than the original date set for the year 2000.

James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering, warned people to be cautiously optimistic about the hall’s completion because construction dates are always tentative.

Progress on Howe Hall suffered only minimal delays from recent labor strikes across central Iowa with construction companies. McCormick said construction is back on schedule.

He said because the exterior structure of the hall was near completion, the short labor strike had little effect on the engineering hall’s progress.

Unexpected severe weather last October also contributed to the delay, McCormick said. Once construction begins inside the building, weather is not expected to slow the process.

The new engineering hall is named after Stanley and Helen Howe, who contributed $6 million to the building project.

Stanley Howe, a 1946 ISU engineering graduate, is chairman emeritus and member of the board of directors at HON Industries.

This new addition to the campus will include four new high-tech classrooms, offices for faculty and staff and an auditorium with a seating capacity of 275.

The construction will be done in two phases. The second phase will house wind tunnels, laboratories and an auditorium that will seat 400 students.

Phase two cannot begin until phase one is finished, said David Holgen, associate dean of the College of Engineering.

The second phase will be located where Exhibit Hall, the Engineering Research Institute building and the Engineering Annex are currently located. Holgen said the separate phases will be connected by a skywalk.

Melsa said Howe Hall is being built by several different companies. The Des Moines-based Weitz Company is the managing firm in charge of the various contractors.

Bids for the different jobs are given, and the university works with the Weitz Company to decide on the contractor best suited for the job.

Melsa said the university has managed to accept bids from Iowa-based construction companies for most jobs on the project.

Heating and ventilation systems are currently being installed by Waldinger Construction, Melsa said. Most of the exterior was constructed by Woodruff Construction.