Work begins this week on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center’s new headquarters building at its campus off Halls Ferry Road, according to information from ERDC.

The first of what is expected to be a crew of 150 employees from Birmingham, Ala.-based Yates Construction Co. arrived at the campus Monday to begin preparation for the project, which is expected to take 28 months to complete.

“That’s a part of the progress this community’s making,” Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said. “That why we did the Wisconsin (access road) to take some relief off the back side (of the ERDC property).

“We’ve also asked our congressional delegation for money to improve the road on the south side of the property, which will be the front of the headquarters. The infrastructure will be very important for ERDC and the sports complex if we build it out there,” he said, adding he is going to Washington in May to ask for money for roadwork.

Once work begins on the new building, construction will be done in five phases, 1A, 1B and 1C, and 2 and 3. Phase 1A involves construction of a new boulevard to the new building and is expected to be completed in 150 days. Phases 1B and 1C, will connect the boulevard to existing roads on the campus. The second and third phases will involve construction of the new building.

When completed, the 142,000-square-foot facility will include a four-story southern wing and a three-story northern wing, connected by a centrally located 6,100 square-foot atrium. It will include 4,500 square feet of classroom space, a 500-seat auditorium, a 100-seat conference room, a 50-seat video/teleconferencing room, and a 6,350-square-foot archival library. It will house ERDC’s major command staff division and executive offices under the same roof for the first time in the organization’s history.

Besides the executive offices the building will house the offices of health services, safety, security, equal employment opportunity, contracting, internal review, the director of public works, public affairs and resource management, and the office of counsel.

The building will be located in the center of the ERDC campus, making it accessible by all employees.

ERDC was established Oct. 1, 1999, when seven research laboratories operated by the Corps were consolidated into one organization in Vicksburg.

ERDC is the premier research and development facility for the Corps, with more than 2,500 employees, $1.2 billion in facilities and an annual research program exceeding $1.1 billion.

It conducts research in both military and civil works mission areas for the DOD and the nation.