Sidewalk construction continues to drag on across campus

By Ben Frederick

A few weeks ago, the   university started several construction projects. These included repairs of many sidewalks all around campus including in front of Fenn Tower, Mather Mansion, the music building and between the Science and Research building and Main Classroom. These construction zones are a big nuisance and a waste of time.

First, the sidewalks being repaired did not need to be repaired. They were in decent to good condition with little to no cracks in them. The university is wasting money on pointless projects instead of focusing on what actually needs to be done. The university could be spending the money on things that we actually need. Instead, they are wasting our money on pointless sidewalk repairs. They are throwing away money.

The second issue is that they are doing a poor job replacing the sidewalks. The quality of the work and the results are below par. If we are paying for this, we should demand a higher quality than what is given to us. The sidewalks are being torn up and replaced with visibly lesser quality concrete than what is already there.

Adding to that, the construction workers damage the areas around the sidewalk including sidewalks they are not replacing and landscaping adjacent to the construction zone. The construction workers are being careless with the work they are doing and damaging more property than they are fixing. These construction projects are a waste and should have never happened.

To make matters worse, these construction projects take way longer than the expected time. When they were replacing the sidewalks in front of Fenn Tower, they said it would take one day. Unfortunately, it rained that afternoon, so they could not finish the construction work. So instead of it taking one day, they took four more days to finish it. That is outrageous.

This happened again for the construction between Main Classroom and the Science and Research building. They said it would take about two weeks to complete. After those two weeks, they switched the signs saying it would take another two weeks to complete and switched the date on when the construction started, lying to people on when the first construction phase started. These sidewalks did not need to be replaced and are not being replaced in a timely manner. It almost seems like they are purposely taking a long time to complete them, but that doesn’t make sense. It seems like they get paid by the hour and are just trying to take more of the student’s money.

These closing and detours are also a big pain for students and staff. For people living in Fenn Tower, we had to walk around the building to the backdoor just to get inside. To go between the Science and Research building and Main Classroom, one must go to the second floor and take the inner link then go back down the stairs. This is a hassle and much more annoying when the construction is a waste of time in the first place.

The sidewalks being replaced are a big waste of time and money. The construction is doing more damage than it is helping. The university should have never proceeded with the replacement of many of the sidewalks around campus.