Lucas Administration Building repairs remain steady

Hattiesburg, Miss. - One of Mississippi's architectural iconic structures and University of Southern Mississippi's building frontiers will continue to undergo repair and construction.

USM officials faced a few minor repairs after nearly two years of repairs to the Lucas Administration Building. "We are behind schedule a little bit actually by about 170 days, we had rain delays, but we also had about approximately five months of delay in terracotta fabrication." Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning and Management, Dr. Chris Crenshaw said. "There was a lot of cracked terracotta, where moisture was getting in, and it was causing it to expand and crack even more...into the building."

Maintaining the architectural beauty of the historic building hasn't changed the $3.2 million budget. However, Crenshaw and his team are ready to clean the place up. He also says there is more work ahead before the projected October deadline. "We're just ready to have this place cleaned up, you know it's the front of our campus." Dr. Crenshaw says the project will remain on budget and hopefully without further delay.