TIGER TV ONLINE REPORTER
Campus construction projects going on since the beginning of the school year are running on schedule as the fall semester ends.
One project on campus is the Pentagon dining hall. It is scheduled to be finished in time for the spring semester, although not without setbacks. The dining hall project was originally scheduled to be finished in time for the fall semester, but structural problems with the building pushed to deadline back one semester Director of University Auxiliary Services Jason Tolliver said there have been no delays since then.
“We are still on target to meet our deadline to be open for the spring,” Tolliver said. “We’ve even started to make the chairs and tables for it.”
While campus construction itself is an ongoing process, the lapse between projects reduces inconveniences associated with construction, and students will reap the rewards of the finished products.
“Students will have more opportunities with new facilities and new offerings,” Tolliver said. “It’s much better that we’ve gone through these processes.”
Finishing the Pentagon will mean students from the west side of campus will no longer have to go to the other side of campus to eat, saving them time and effort.
“It will be so much more convenient to eat between classes,” education sophomore Shannon Norwood said.
Construction-related noises like delivery trucks and jack-hammering heard on campus have the potential to be disruptive to daily life for students. The University takes measures to keep these disruptions at a minimum, especially for those students living on campus.
Tolliver said measures include scheduling when noisy parts of construction go on and using as little parking space as possible.
“We try to minimize amount of parking that has to be used to set up construction,” Tolliver said. “Around campus living we try to control what types of stuff can go on…some noise during the day is just business as usual.”
As projects are completed new ones begin. Construction on the Tiger Lair in the Union will begin in the late winter and move into the early spring. Work on the bookstore and beginning the parking garage will happen in late spring and continue into the fall of 2010.
These, like all other construction, have been carefully planned out and staged in advance.
“These projects have been on the books for years,” Tolliver said.
Campus construction may be inconvenient, but they are the only way to get new and improved buildings in an ever-changing atmosphere.
“There are constantly changing environments and needs,” Tolliver said. “We need to provide updates and enhance on-going programs with better facilities.”
