The $97.1 million Clinton Presidential Library project in downtown Little Rock hosted topping out ceremonies in May.

The placement of a final 29-ft. steel beam, bearing the names of more than 5,000 donors, marked the progress of construction at 35 percent complete. The 148,000-sq.-ft. structure is touted as the largest building permit in the city's history.

It is envisioned as a futuristic truss bridge on the bank of the Arkansas River. The design also serves as an allusion to a catch phrase of the Bill Clinton while he was president: Building a bridge to the 21st Century.

That vision translates into a pair of 420-ft. by 45-ft. trusses, atop two 90-ft. cantilevers supported by drilled concrete caissons. The 420-ft.-long building has three load bearing points of caissons. The single foundation column on the north end is crowned with a 95-ton girder, 50 ft. wide by 13 ft. tall, and made of 6-in.-thick plate.

Workers had to drill 45 ft. to sink the caissons, and Rob Hawkins, general superintendent for CDI Contractors Inc. of Little Rock said that even though the soil reports indicated soft shale, "it turned out to be much tougher drilling."

The harder rock formation was good for added stability, but the surprise doubled the projected 45-day drilling schedule for the piers. Despite the unexpected turn, adjustments to the work schedule allowed the drilling to be completed within a week of the planned delivery of the trusses.

The job was accomplished by modifying the original plan to do the concrete work and steel erection concurrently. Concrete was formed all the way up to keep the project moving, and the steel was erected around it.

"We were able to switch from pouring the core shafts to slip forming the stair towers and erecting the steel around the concrete, which saved a lot of time," said Jonathan Semans, program manager for Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Aurora, Colo.

The archives portion of the building is dominated by cast-in-place concrete with waffle slabs. A radiant heating and cooling system is integrated into the concrete.

The building will be encased with custom glass walls that screen exhibits from ultraviolet light as well as reduce heat gain from the sun. Building a point supported structural glass wall off the trusses will be one of the more technical challenges because it requires maintaining the truss alignments while hanging more than 150,000 pounds of three-layer Pilkington glass.

Plans called for a tolerance of + 1 3/8 in. on the alignment of the top and bottom truss chords. The finished work ended up coming in at + 3/4 in., prior to the glass work.
"The intricacy of the project is much higher than what you normally see," said Danny Bennett, a project executive with CDI Contractors.

Polshek Partnership Architects of New York City designed the museum and archive facility.

Housed within the rectangle of a museum will be an exact replica of the Oval Office, which is actually an ellipse.

The library is the centerpiece of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park, a $160 million development. The 27.7-acre park, designed by Hargreaves Associates of Boston and San Francisco, supplants a mix of old industrial and warehouse properties.

The overall project is viewed as a catalyst for further significant redevelopment in downtown Little Rock east of the I-30 bridge.

Construction officially started in June 2002, and steel erecting began in November. The next milestone is to have the building in the dry by December. Next summer should herald substantial completion, with the exhibits' installation complete in fall 2004. Opening day remains slated for Nov. 18, 2004.

The lower three floors and basement will be devoted to the museum and archives, with the fourth floor reserved as Clinton's private executive living quarters.

The bridge motif also pays homage to the nearby Rock Island Railway Bridge. Cut off from train traffic, the span will be redeveloped into a walkway linking North Little Rock and Little Rock as part of the overall presidential library development.

The nearby historic Choctaw Station, built in 1899 as a rail passenger depot, will be converted to the Clinton School of Public Policy and Foundation. Work is expected to begin this summer on the 16,500 sq. ft. structure, which will house two classrooms, library, common room and staff facilities.

Polk Stanley Yeary Architects Ltd. of Little Rock is overseeing the design
on this facet of the project.

A large play area is also part of the development. It features a design based on the concept of "An American Childhood" and uses icons and exaggerated art forms of such elements as blocks, tricycles, a tree house, marbles, leapfrog and hopscotch to recreate the former president's playground memories.