MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2004
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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BY LORI BETTES AND SAMANTHA HORNER
editor@kanan.com
SPECIAL TO THE KANAN
As Kevin Kinsella climbs the hill to his 7:30 a.m. class, he can hear the hammering.
The Leawood senior is used to the constant murmur of construction by now.
vkfaith.com
Kinsella said he doesn't care about the cause of the neverending hammering. He just wants it to be over.
Work began in May at 14th Street and Jayhawk Boulevard to repair a collapsing steam line tunnel that runs under the University of Kansas campus. Years of water corrosion created an unsafe work environment for workers who used the tunnel.
Students avoid the construction at the top of 14th Street. Work on the steam tunnel should be completed by Feb. 13.
workers who the state hired design firm Hoss and Brown to design a new, safe and more efficient tunnel. After the completion of the design, the bid for construction was fair game. The University accepted the bid from Altmar Inc.
Chris Johnson, superintendent of Altmar Inc., said he has a full-time construction crew of at least 15 workers. He said construction on the new tunnel should be completed by Feb. 13.
should be completed The rains that saturated Lawrence last month didn't have an effect on construction timelines, Johnson said.
"If it rains too much, and we can't pump the water out of the tunnel, the mud and silt back up and cause delays," Johnson said.
However, the past week of warm and dry weather has kept Altmar Inc. on schedule. University faculty has mixed thoughts about the construction's disruption on campus.
tion's classmate. Jim Modig, director of design and construction for the University, said he didn't anticipate the size of the project, nor the $1.2 million price tag. Modig said most on-campus projects involved smaller repairs in classrooms and buildings.
"This was an unusual situation," Modig said. "Most of the
repairs are in terms of buildings. Utility repairs like the tunnel are much less common."
much less commitment According to Modig, the funds for the project came from two different sources: the Educational Building Fund and settlement funds.
The Educational Building Fund collects annual funds from the state. These funds are used for repair and rehabilitation of campus facilities. Modig said normally, the funds are solely used for roof replacements, mechanical equipment and electrical upgrades.
The settlement funds came from a lawsuit the University filed nine years ago against a boiler room company. The company produced faulty equipment that the University bought. The University settled the legal battle out of court.
"The settlement funds really helped for the project, now we'll have some leftover money so we can pay attention to other repairs around campus," Modig said.
Coping with construction
Mark Skorick stops his lecture for the second time in 20 minutes, a common practice for him. He can't talk over the noise of the jackhammers, drills and machines. Skorick, professor of political science, is trying to be patient with the construction.
construction.
"I don't understand why I should be forced to stop speaking every 10 minutes and wait for drilling to cease in order to be heard by my students," Skorick said.
Skorick said.
Skorick understands the need for construction, but not the timing.
"I think it's more important to provide an environment that's conducive to the education of students," Skorick said.
students. He teaches in Blake Hall, where related construction is in the works.
Skorick said he feels construction should have been completed over the summer or on
Students avoid breaks when students weren't in classes. Other faculty noticed the construction as well.
Brad Kemp, Natural History Museum assistant director of public affairs, said the construction is a bother when the building shakes with the vibrations. The museum is located inside Dyche Hall, directly next to the construction on 14th Street and Jayhawk Boulevard.
"The building is over a century old." Kemp said. "So hopefully when the construction is done, we won't have to worry about problems with heating and cooling like we have in the past. It seems like it's never comfortable in here."
portable in here.
The museum has about 50,000 visitors a year. Lately, visitors seem to want to know more about the huge hole next to the building than the exhibits, Kemp said.
Both Skorick and Kemp hope
The new tunnels are meant to connect campus buildings distributing electricity, water and steam efficiently. Records of the utility systems and how they operate aren't available because the tunnel system was installed in the early 1900s.
Mark Reiske, assistant director of design and construction management, oversees the project to make sure everything is following codes. Reiske said the main benefit of the new tunnel is a safer environment for the University.
the construction proves to be worth the hassle.
Thinking positive
University Reiske said with the new tunnel system, the Design and Construction Management Department will be able to complete smaller repair projects in order to avoid larger problems. A new record system is being installed with the tunnel so
checks can easily be done to ensure the equipment is working properly.
property.
"There were portions of the tunnel that were inaccessible," Reiske said. "We're talking, you had to crawl through, and even then you couldn't get through sometimes."
sometimes.
The tunnel makes it possible to heat and service domestic hot water use for Dyche, Spooner, and Lippincott halls. Utility workers need a safe tunnel so they can access any problems quickly and efficiently, Reiske said.
"The old tunnel was failing it's that simple," Reiske said. "If we didn't take care of this problem, the old tunnel could have collapsed and taken down steam lines, communication lines pretty much the entire infrastructure."
- Edited by Steve Schmidt
LEGENDS Students take advantage of new bus route
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
"I will never, ever recoup the money I've lost," Lawson said.
After she learned that KU on Wheels would no longer be available to shuttle her tenants, Lawson said the private bus was her only option.
The Legends bus route goes from the Legends apartment complex, down 15th street, along Jayhawk Boulevard and arrives at the Kansas Union every 40 minutes. The route began the first day of fall classes.
Anyone who rides the bus must have a Legends bus pass Eric Darnell, Legends bus driver said. Legends tenants and nontenants can buy a semester pass for $50 dollars or a school year pass for $100. Student bus passes for KU on Wheels cost $130 for an annual pass. $70 for a fall pass or spring pass and $30 for a summer pass.
After Tran saw the bus in her neighborhood, she bought a Legends bus pass and rides the bus about four days a week.
But Tran said the Legends bus schedule is not accommodating to her class schedule and she is afraid it could be cancelled again because of low ridership. Because of that, next year she will move out of her west Lawrence townhome and closer to campus.
"In case they decide to cancel the bus I don't want to be in the same situation next year," Tran said.
ture:
This February at the annual route-hearing meeting, Lawson said she plans to request that the transportation board bring back the bus route.
Lawson said that the decision to cancel the route was premature.
Edited by Ashley Bechard