COLUMN: Campus construction during semester is a waste of summer
Over the past week or so, my walk home has been severely interrupted by construction on the diagonal path on Old Main Hill running from the flagpole to the Amphitheater stairway and down to the tunnel under U.S. Highway 89.
Why the people in charge of this project waited until the fall, when the maximum number of students would be affected, is beyond me. Isn’t one of the benefits of having an extremely diminished student body in the summer the opportunity to upgrade campus infrastructure?
I feel weird writing this, but city officials in Logan have figured it out already – at least in part. Even though everyone in Cache Valley hated dodging orange construction barrels on every major roadway this summer, but how much worse would construction traffic have been with all the students clogging up 400 North?
To be fair, I love the decision to switch the path from overpatched and uneven asphalt to smooth concrete. Not only will it look nicer, but it will be easier for cyclists and longboarders to maintain control of their transportation; as if anyone is going to follow the posted 10 miles per hour safety suggestion.
I just wish the whole project would have been timed better so students who live southwest of campus or park at the bottom of Old Main Hill wouldn’t have to stumble around the makeshift plastic fencing, two-foot-deep gravel pits and low-hanging tree branches that comprise the obstacle course that has taken over their campus commute walkway.
Could I could easily just walk down the main steps leading directly up the hill from 500 North and avoid the pitfalls on my near-midnight walks home? Yes.
Could construction workers on campus have built the exact same project three months ago when nobody would have cared? Yes.
– Tavin Stucki is the editor in chief of The Utah Statesman. His articles have won awards and appeared in numerous news publications throughout Utah. He was awarded the highest scholarship in the JCOM department for his dedication and professionalism. Send any comments to statesmaneditor@aggiemail.usu.edu.