A joint venture of McCarthy Building Cos. and Mortenson has completed the $1.06 billion National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, the nation’s leading animal disease research lab, according to a news release. 

Developed to ensure public health and the safety and security of the nation’s food supply, the 707,000-square-foot facility is located on 48 acres and will replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Orient Point, New York. 

Once fully operational, the facility will be country’s first bio-defense site with biosafety level 4 containment capable of housing large livestock. A BSL-4 designation is the apex of the biosafety scale. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are only a handful of BSL-4 designated labs globally. The microbes analyzed in these labs are usually dangerous and exotic, and the infections they cause are frequently fatal without treatment or vaccines. The Ebola and Marburg viruses are two examples. 

The BSL-4 containment laboratories at the Kansas site will enable scientists to safely study and diagnose a variety of high-consequence animal pathogens, according to the release. A Biologics Development Module will allow the development and production of potential vaccines, diagnostic platforms and veterinary medical countermeasures.

The facility’s design included stringent containment, blast-resistant and anti-terrorism specifications, as well as a high-wind criteria from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that was adopted by the Department of Homeland Security, which commissioned the build. 

After a handoff period, the facility will ultimately be operated by the Department of Agriculture.

In addition to 574,000 square feet of laboratory space, the facility encompasses an 87,000-square-foot freestanding central utility plant that houses boilers, chillers and emergency diesel generators.

The McCarthy/Mortenson team was selected through a best value competitive process based on the team’s expertise in constructing biosafety facilities and its experience in the local area, according to the release. 

McCarthy has previously completed biosafety projects for the CDC in Atlanta, while Mortenson worked on a similar laboratory project at the University of Colorado in Denver.

NBAF by the numbers:

• 60,000 cubic yards of concrete
• 3 million square feet of paint.
• 4.5 million linear feet of electrical wire.
• 13,000 tons of steel.
• 4 million hours of on-site labor, equivalent to 385 people working 1,925 years.
• Structure built to withstand a car flying through the air at 92 mph.
• The NBAF central utility plant could power 15,750 homes.