Sidewalk Repairs In The Quad
The sidewalks in the quad are being repaired to correct trip hazards and remove broken concrete.
The repairs have begun with the interior of the quad then will work its way to the surrounding areas. The goal for sidewalk repairs is to be completed by the end of the 2023 year but could be pushed back due to weather conditions and campus events.
Sidewalks that will be receiving upcoming repairs are on the backside and front of the Science building along with the area between the Humanities and Social Science building and the Science building.
Brain Enter, the senior university facilities executive, oversees the maintenance and operations of buildings, environmental health and safety on campus informed about the start of the sidewalk repairs.
“I was wanting to get it fixed before school started this semester, but we had problems getting bidders [with] labor shortage and stuff like that so it took a while to get a contractor on board,” commented Enter.
To not further inconvenience students and facility, the contracting company working on the sidewalks is operating around class schedules and will be active on weekends.
Some caution tape and barriers were taken down in the quad to improve the campus appearance. Along with the removal of barriers, plywood was added over areas of removed concrete.
Students have been walking around the blocked off quad sidewalks in the grass and pine straw areas which is safe. The areas where it’s not safe to walk are marked specifically between the Humanities and Social Science building and the Science building with signs informing people not to walk there.
When asked if facility members received a notice about the uprooting of the concrete around the quad, Mr. Enter was unsure. Though he does believe that the facility would benefit from notices when new construction happens that cause big changes on campus, he doesn’t have access to facility emails to send out such notices.
Mr. Enter informed,
“I‘m working on getting access to facility and staff so I can—just facility and staff so I can email them, you know, let them know.”
Sidewalks often become uneven due to the weather and tree roots uplifting them. If there are areas on campus that you may be concerned about, any facility member can put in work orders for those or issues of any kind for them to be resolved.
