Beginning Monday construction crews will begin driving the piles into the ground at the city of the new building of the Oxford Activity Center.

“It will be loud,” said Oxford Park Commission Director Seth Gaines.

Construction crews with Shaw Services LLC have 144 piles to drive into the ground. Gaines said crews will drive 10 to 15 piles each day during the week.

“Driving piles will last around three weeks,” Gaines said.

A pile is basically a long cylinder of a strong material such as concrete that is pushed into the ground to act as a steady support for structures built on top of it.

The project is being overseen by Innovative Construction Management that has placed a webcam at the construction site that is live 24 hours a day. To view the webcam, visit http://icmllcms.com/web-cams/.

The projected total cost of construction is estimated to be $10,673,780. A $533K contingency is added to the project’s budget, making the final cost $11,207,469.

The 33,000 square-foot activity center will consist of four basketball courts, a fitness room, office space, a walking track and a large enclosed area for gymnastics.