Alabama university demolishing class building hit by twister

July 30, 2019 at 11:23 a.m. | Updated July 30, 2019 at 11:25 a.m.

by Associated Press

Brian Smith, a student at Jacksonville State University, carries his belongings out of his apartment, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, after a violent storm went swept through Jacksonville, Ala., the night before. Smith said he was forced to climb out of his apartment with a sheet connected to a metal rail fence to get out safely from the second floor. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Brian Smith, a student at Jacksonville State University, carries his belongings out of his apartment, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, after a violent storm went swept through Jacksonville, Ala., the night before. Smith said he was forced to climb out of his apartment with a sheet connected to a metal rail fence to get out safely from the second floor. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (AP) - A northeast Alabama university is demolishing a classroom building that was severely damaged by a tornado last year.

Jacksonville State University held a ceremony Monday to mark the beginning of the end of Merrill Hall. The business school building was damaged so badly in the 2018 twister it couldn't be repaired.

Demolition is supposed to take about three months. The university plans to replace the nearly 50-year-old building with a new business building that should be complete in 2021.

An EF-3 tornado ripped through the campus on March 19, 2018. About two-thirds of the university's buildings were damaged.

Classes from Merrill Hall were moved into a vacant elementary school that was no longer being used.

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