The Texas A&M system board of regents approved $102 million dollars of construction projects affecting the flagship and RELLIS campuses during Thursday's quarterly meetings.

Speakers in this podcast are regents chair Elaine Mendoza, the system's executive director of facilities and construction Russ Wallace, and Texas A&M chief financial officer Jerry Strawser.

The flagship campus had three projects with a combined total of $23 million.

Chick-Fil-A is coming to west campus. That's part of a $15 million dollar dining facility. Construction would start next month and take one year to complete. The location would be surrounded by the Biochemistry/Biophysics Building, the HEEP Center, the Kleberg Center, and the Rosenthal Meat Science and Technology Center. The facility would also have three Chartwell's-branded restaurants and have seating for 390 indoors and 80 outdoors.

Regents approved a $5 million dollar budget to establish a railroad quiet zone along Wellborn Road. According to background information presented by president Michael Young, Union Pacific is planning to increase the number of trains coming through campus in the next five years from an average of 24 per day to nearly 50 per day. Modifications at four crossings begins next month and are scheduled to be completed in August of next year. Those crossings are F & B, Old Main, John Kimbrough, and George Bush.

Approval was also given to the more than $8 million dollar replacement of the heating and air conditioning system at Appelt residence hall. That would start later this month and finish in July.

Regents also approved three projects at RELLIS with a combined total of $79 million dollars that are associated with the Army Futures Command.

$42 million is to build the Bush Combat Development Complex innovation proving grounds. This will be the testing site for new Army technologies...some involving soldiers from Fort Hood and some involving members of A&M's Corps of Cadets.

$25 million is to build the "BAM" facility project. "BAM" stands for Ballistic Aero-Optics and Materials. The facility will include two steel tubes to do research on lasers and hypersonic flight conditions among other things.

The remaining $12 million dollars is to improve RELLIS campus infrastructure to accommodate the Bush complex and the BAM project.