There’s a lot of dirt being moved at the NBAF site these days. Kansas State University’s NBAF Liaison Ron Trewyn tells KMAN the 1.25 billion dollar facility will be 580,000 square feet, which means a lot of dirt and rock removal. By fall it’s estimated trucks will be hauling dirt and rock off the site every six minutes.
Trewyn says in the fall there will be even more activity, which will have a crescendo effect and continue to grow and grow. By 2018 and ’19 the average number of workers on site is projected to be 900.
While it’s a five year construction time, a lot of the work will be below ground to start with. Trewyn adds Homeland Security is already bringing more people to the area–who are calling Manhattan home, at least for awhile, with about 10 or so Homeland Security living in town now and more are being hired.
NBAF is expected to be fully operational by 2022 or 2023.
The facility is being described as Homeland Security’s foremost animal disease research facility. The biosafety level-4 laboratory will research emerging, high consequence livestock diseases.
Trewyn’s entire interview can be heard on KMAN’s “On Demand” Section on this website.
