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The National Aquarium in Baltimore's much-touted Australian outback exhibit will miss the busy 2005 spring and summer tourist seasons because of delays in construction and supply shipments.
The $66 million addition that will recreate an Australian river gorge will now open in fall 2005, instead of in the spring as scheduled. Arguably the crown jewel of Inner Harbor attractions, the National Aquariums setback could have a negative ripple effect on the performance of other downtown destinations, which saw a dip in attendance this summer.
A host of factors have thrown the Down Under exhibit off course. Cold or rainy days prevented Arizona-based builder CemRock, which is responsible for carving 7,750 tons of natural-looking "rock" from working because the sculpted concrete won't dry properly, said Molly Foyle, an Aquarium spokeswoman.
In other cases, delays in receiving everything from steel supports to artificial trees threw a wrench in the schedule for the exhibit project manager, a unit of Barton Malow Co. in Southfield, Mich.
The delay is a disappointment to Aquarium officials. "It's not ideal. We would like to open when we're busiest, from Memorial Day to Labor Day," Foyle said.
This June, Aquarium employees celebrated the exhibits halfway mark during a news...