BRAWLEY — They may just be "basically taking away some dirt and replacing it with different dirt," as San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus Dean Khosrow Fatemi explained before leaving for vacation last week, but a quick drive by the site of SDSU-IV's future satellite campus here on Highway 78, east of Highway 111, reveals workers are toiling away to prepare the area for construction.

Surrounded by tractors and trucks, Eugene Lofton, foreman for A&R Construction, the Brawley-based company prepping the site, and his partner, were working at 2:30 p.m. in the sweltering heat.

Lofton said he and his crew will work from 6 a.m. until around 3 p.m. for two weeks to "smooth and pack" the earth where a 10,000 square-foot, seven-classroom building will be constructed.

"We're excavating the pad and will start filling it with sand late this week," he said.

After removing about three feet of soil and digging a large hole, the trucks will bring in soil and sand to fill the area.

Also, workers have to strip the agricultural land of grass to prepare the parking lot, said Lofton.

Two of the classrooms will be "smart classrooms" — outfitted with an abundance of computer equipment and instant Internet access.

If everything goes as planned — in other words no equipment breaks down — Lofton said the site will be all prepped for construction by mid-next week.

Actual construction on the buildings, which Fatemi said will be complete by Jan. 5, will begin once the site is ready.

Meanwhile Brawley Union High School will provide classrooms for the SDSU-IV students for the fall semester