The highly anticipated K-25 Interpretive Center, which provides an elevated view of the K-25 Building footprint at ETTP, is now open. UCOR officials, including President and CEO Ken Rueter, joined DOE and local elected officials Saturday for a grand opening event.
The center is officially called the William J. Wilcox, Jr. K-25 Interpretive Center, named after Oak Ridge’s official historian who was an original resident of the city when it came into existence in the 1940s.
Working through an interagency agreement, OREM provided funding for the $10 million project, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with overseeing construction of the facility. The Corps engaged construction contractor Geiger Brothers to build it. UCOR and subcontractor Smee + Busby Architects designed the facility, which includes 10-foot wrap-around glass windows, and provided engineering support during construction.
“The transformation of ETTP started with one of the most challenging cleanup projects ever undertaken,” said Rueter. “This cleanup has allowed the site to become not only an industrial asset to the region but also a destination that helps tell the story of how rolling farmland turned into one of the most significant sites in the history of our country. The interpretive center helps bring full circle the hard work and investment that took place decades ago and continued with the cleanup and transformation of the site into an economic asset focused on nuclear energy advancements.”
The work to clean up and transform the site is captured in a UCOR-donated monument that has been erected on the Interpretive Center grounds. It honors the visions that made ETTP the thriving economic hub and recreational area it is today.
