Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 18 February 2, 1995 - Construction will limit access

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including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Construction will limit access

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 18 - February 2, 1995

(Editor's note: The following information on chilled water line replacement affecting members of the university community has been provided by F. Spencer Hall, assistant vice president for facilities.)

Last summer at the corner of Turner and Stanger Street, we completed Phase I of our Chilled Water Line Project to provide service to the new engineering building, Major Williams and the eventual Upper Quad Conversion. We are now preparing to complete Phase II which will replace the lines from our new work at the intersection down Turner Street to Cowgill Plaza.

There is no good time of the year to do this work. However, to get the project done before the summer need for air conditioning, and before the new engineering building project gets under way, we intend to start on February 12 with a completion date of June 1. The first step will be to install crossover piping at Cowgill Plaza so that Cowgill, Derring, Hahn, Pamplin, and Johnston Student Center can be fed from a chiller in Pamplin. This will take about five days. Next we will excavate the entire length of Turner Street, remove the old badly leaking pipe, install the new piping and reconnect the laterals that feed the individual buildings, test the piping for leaks, and finally backfill the excavation.

As you can imagine, the construction area is very restricted. We will need to haul the excavated dirt away and haul it back to fill the completed excavation. To make as much progress as possible, we will work 10 hours a day, seven days a week. We will also try to schedule excavation work at night to avoid noise during times of class, but some noise will be inevitable. Very limited access will be maintained down Turner Street for emergency vehicles and trash removal. However, normal parking, deliveries, and other vehicle access will not be available until project completion. We will have two moveable pedestrian bridges to span the excavation so foot traffic can cross Turner Street.

We regret the inconvenience to the campus community that this will cause, but it is unavoidable if we are to keep our infrastructure repaired and capable of serving the university and supporting our new construction. Please bear with us--I know how difficult it will be. Also, please contact me directly if you have any questions or suggestions.