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Installation of the Carter Carillon's 27 bells began Monday after almost a week of waiting for the installer to arrive.
Phil Dravage, who will be installing the bells as well as the carillon's four clocks, said he was delayed on another project.
The bells were made in Europe and cost between $200,000 and $250,000, Dravage said.
The carillon's largest bell was hung as well as some of the smaller bells, leaving space for future additions.
Once the bells are in place, a structure will be built around them and two additional sections will be placed on top, said Chad Carter, part owner of Carter Enterprises and project manager for the carillon along with the Emma Eccles Jones Teacher Education Building and Old Main projects.
"It's easier to put the bells in now than if the structure was done," he said.
Three rings are visible on the carillon. The largest bell, which is about 4 feet tall and weighs about 1,600 pounds, will be placed on the top ring, Carter said. Smaller bells weighing about 40 pounds each will be hung from the lower second and tird rings.
Nolan Truman, SUU construction services manager, said all the bells and the carillon's four 6-foot clocks are being stored on campus.
The clocks will be hung when the carillon is nearly completed, Dravage said.
The bells will be controlled from a room in the Teacher Education Building, Carter said.
"Each of the bells has a gong, like a little hammer, but it will be electronically controlled," he said. "It's programmable and it can also be played manually."
The structure, as of Saturday, is 30 percent completed, Carter said.
"By the end of October all of the main structure will be up," he said. "It will be 76 feet tall from (the ground) to the top," he said.
Aside from the installation delay the carillon is on-schedule to be completed by mid-December, Truman said.
"They're still working on other things, (the delay) hasn't slowed it down at all," he said. "They still have two more sections to go that will be on top of the bells. They've been working on those."
After the initial structure is complete, additional framework will be done inside and the masonry will commence.
Because of the tower's relatively small size, brickwork during winter weather shouldn't be a problem, Truman said. "It's a small enough structure it can be covered and we can put heaters in. I think it will go just fine unless we have some really seriously cold weather."
Carter said he doesn't anticipate cold weather hindering the carillon's progress because brickwork on the Teacher Education Building was done during last year's cold winter without considerable difficulty.
"When we do the masonry we'll do scaffolding all the way around up to the top," he said. "It enables us to cover it."
Carter said he thinks the size of the tower will make it a prominent location.
"The sheer size and height of it, plus the fact that the bells are real bells, will add to the significance of the tower."
Truman said he thinks the carillon and bells will be excellent additions to campus.
"It will be really beautiful," he said. "We've got some great bells to go in and it will be nice when they get it done and we hear it. It will be nice to have a real bell system."
The current bell toll, which can be heard every half hour during the day, is sounded from speakers atop the Electronic Learning Center.
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