Workers continue to make progress on the construction of a temporary service road through Old Main lawn on the University of Arkansas campus.
As of Wednesday afternoon, fences were built and gravel was laid across nearly half of the area of lawn that the revised plan calls for.
Crews removed stones from the rock wall along Dickson Street in early September and are now working to complete the gravel path that will allow for the delivery of construction supplies to a planned $60 million renovation and expansion project of Vol Walker and Ozark halls.
The service road is set to be in place for the duration of the renovation which is scheduled to last about two years.
The areas of Senior Walk that will be obscured during the construction period are being covered with protective material until the construction and renovations are completed, said UA Chancellor Gearhart earlier this year.
Here are a few photos taken Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011.
Lovely!
i predict the loss of several trees and that it’ll never be fully restored…very bad precedent.
I know that this construction annoys everyone and it goes without saying, but I think it is absolutely horrible that half of the campus looks like a dirt pile. Fall just won’t be the same with Old Main Lawn torn up.
I work from campus a lot and am sad to see so much of it rendered an eyesore, inaccessible and unfriendly to students and visitors. The U of A has such a lovely, welcoming campus and it’s become impossible to navigate. On any given day, some paths are open or fenced off. Enrollment records and aging facilities make the upgrades and construction absolutely necessary, no question about it but it would be nice if it didn’t make campus an ugly construction zone for the next four years.
So, the improvements are necessary. But you don’t want to see the construction needed.
Someone get the magic wand!!! Poof, a new building.
Oh wow. I’ve spotted the rare “sarcasm on the internet” bird. Congratulations! It would be nice if they had staggered the construction to only blow up parts of campus, instead of most of campus at any given time. As in, some forethought. Seeing as how the University has changed course on some poorly conceived plans several times, I can safely deduce that their planning is, well, lacking.
The money is available now and the labor force is inexpensive. Additionally, the student population growth has forced immediate action.
I don’t think waiting was an option.
Old Main was under construction during my time at the U of A. It was the school’s logo, and it had dirt pits, orange fencing, cranes and fallinjg bricks. There were several other projects that created a nuisance as well, but why complain? Construction is a dirty and ugly, but the long term benefits outway the 12-18 months of inconvenience and blight.
Get over it and be glad that the U of A has the resources to improve the campus to keep up with student demands while continuing to move up in school rankings.
Tweet, tweet, tweet while I fly away….