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10 AL CONSTRUCTION NEWS JAN-MAR 2017 BUILDING ALABAMA P R O J E C T S A AUBURN UNIVERSITY'S COLLEGE OF VETERINARY Medicine will soon be working in a new research facility. Nearen Construction is currently constructing the Food Animal Research Facility, which will provide state-of-the-art capabilities for research relating to large food animals, particularly cattle. "Part of our mission at Auburn University is to work with agriculturally important animals, and cattle is a very important livestock," said Dr. Paul Walz, who serves as the coordinator of animal health research at Auburn. "This research facility is going to be a state- of-the-art building for us to perform that mission of researching and teaching about these animals." The 8,800-square foot structure features a number of unique fea- tures, such as 93 steel gates total throughout the building, which work to maneuver the livestock through the stalls and in various research areas. "Each gate post had to have a slab block out and the post set after the slab on grade was poured," Nearen Construc- tion's Josh Martin, the project manager, said. "Each block out had to be poured back once the post was set. In addition, the entire slab was divided into individual animal stalls with their own drains that the concrete slab had to slope to." Another unique feature is the structure's elaborate grounding system. "Because this is a research facility, the client needs to eliminate any variables that could alter their findings," Martin said. "That means the facility needs a particular grounding system that will prevent the livestock from feeling voltage from the floor." The grounding system is known as an equipotential plane, which uses a conductive network installed in the floor to minimize stay voltage felt by the animals. Stray voltage is a significant concern for livestock producers, especially dairy producers, because it can lead to decreased milk production and affect animal health. To incorporate the equipotential plane into the facility, Nearen's project team has had to make sure wire mesh, reinforcing bars and other conductive elements are embedded in concrete and bonded together and to the overall grounding system for the building. Work on the facility began in summer 2016 and is expected to be completed in spring 2017. Nearen Construction Building State-of-the-Art Livestock Research Facility