Campus construction: a necessary evil

The reference that there are four season in Utah: fall, winter, spring and construction, will ring particularly true this year on campus. New piping, re-roofing and various revamping projects are, or will be underway this summer.

Unfortunately, that means detours, closed roads and orange cones for students. On the surface, this is a serious inconvenience and detrimental to the beauty that is Utah State University during the summer months.

On the other hand, students should be grateful there is money to fund these long overdue projects. Darrell Hart, director of Physical Plant, said the Legislature was good to USU this year and provided the much needed funding.

The new pipes are propelling campus toward central cooling and heating. The Ray B. West building will be getting a new electrical system. The Spectrum is being re-roofed.

USU has been around for a while, and as things get old, they need to be replaced sometime.

There is no happy medium when it comes to improvement. Yes, the Legislature was generous, but no, these projects do not happen overnight.

Hart said the Spectrum project won’t likely be finished before graduation, and the piping project is already beginning to swallow up a major artery of campus.

The construction is here, and although it is inconvenient and unsightly, it is the only means to the desired end: An improved environment for learning.