Campus construction meets delays outside of McDonald Career Center

Students attending Utah State University Eastern may have noticed some campus construction taking place near the McDonald Career Center over the past few weeks. 

According to USU Eastern Facilities and Maintenance Director Kyle Willis, the campus was in need of a steam pipe replacement. The line runs from the McDonald Career Center to the Bunnell-Dmitrich Athletic Center. The pipe that was in the ground before had been suffering issues for several years and the capital improvements budget finally allowed the University to address the change. 

The project was supposed to be a quick job, a few weeks of work inlaying a new steam pipe into the ground, but the team quickly realized there were some complications. During the process, facilities discovered a communications line placed inside a cement vault in the ground that hadn’t been on any campus maps prior to the project start date. 

There isn’t a need for concern. The  IT department is working diligently  to find a way to minimize the impact of the project while figuring out how to move the communications line so the pipe can be properly placed. The project is going to have to be extended until the block can be dealt with and the pipe can be installed in the straight line that is needed for it to work properly.

The project will most likely go over the pre-approved budget of $200,000, but luckily the capital improvement budget also includes a leftover [or slush] fund that allows some of the improvement projects to exceed the original budget in case of emergencies like this.  

The good news for students is that the construction on campus should be wrapped up by graduation. You will be able to bring your family and friends to the campus and give them a tour without the construction going on in the background.