Deliveries to the 4850 Level, by the numbers

Constructing 12,000 square feet of laboratory space nearly a mile underground presents a logistical challenge. For example, all of the equipment and material used to construct the Davis Campus at the 4850 Level has to be lowered down the Yates Shaft on work decks that are 4 feet wide by 12 feet deep.

That requires planning. Ainsworth-Benning personnel on the surface prepare the material for delivery, with help from Sanford Lab personnel, who then deliver loads to the 4850 Level, where Ainsworth-Benning takes over again. Items either delivered or to be delivered include:

2,000 cubic yards of engineered fill

525.6 cubic yards of concrete (more than 300 bags, each weighing 3,000 pounds)

29 tons of steel rebar (lowered 4,000 pounds at a time)

13,000 cement blocks (see photo)

75,000 pounds of rectangular duct

80,000 pounds of spiral duct

30 miles of wiring

7 miles of electrical conduit

320 light fixtures

68 frames and doors

The engineered fill already has been spread over the rock floor of the Transition Cavern. The fill levels the floor for the new lab. Plumbing and electrical conduits that will run under the floor have been installed. Vapor barriers and a 2-inch layer of fine sand will be installed before concrete is poured.

Later this week, crews will lower a batch plant that?s 24 feet long by 5 feet wide by 4 feet tall. The plant will be used to mix concrete for floors. (The Majorana Demonstrator lab?s floor will be a foot thick.)

And that?s just the beginning of Davis Campus construction. Coming soon will be air-handling equipment, chillers, fire-suppression systems, thousands of feet of air ducts and a myriad of other equipment and supplies.

Also coming soon to the 4850 Level, in pieces, will be a stainless steel water tank for the LUX experiment. The tank?24 feet wide by 20 feet tall?will be welded together and installed in the Davis Cavern, where it will protect the most sensitive dark-matter detector ever built.