Some Projects Finish, But Construction Goes On

The eye-catching orange fence and ear-piercing sounds of reversing trucks around Murphey Hall disappeared for this semester as the 1 1/2-year renovation project came to a close Dec. 30.

But construction across campus remains far from over.

The $6.7 million project at Murphey finished behind the projected November 2002 finish date but early enough to allow faculty to teach classes there this semester.

Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for planning and construction, said there still are some finishing touches to be completed on Murphey. "(Workers) are still doing some tweaking here and there, ... but (the building) is fully functional," he said.

Ten to 12 other construction projects also finished within the last two months. Among them are additions to the School of Pharmacy and the School of Medicine.

But these projects' completions barely dent the number of other campus projects in the works. The Office of Facilities Planning and Construction cites more than 25 active projects, and more will commence in the near future.

One of the more extensive projects is the renovation of Connor, Alexander and Winston residence halls, which will remain under construction this semester.

Christopher Payne, director of housing and residential education, said the primary reasons for the renovations were fire safety and heating and air-conditioning upgrades. A sprinkler system and a fire alarm system were installed in each building to remedy those problems.

Payne said students' accessibility to the buildings' facilities also was of concern.

To combat accessibility problems, additions are being built that will connect two residence halls. Winston and Connor are being joined to form a community, as are Alexander and Joyner.

This connection will require the new communities to share laundry, mail and study room facilities, as well as elevators, Runberg said. "From a cost standpoint, it is really advantageous," Runberg said.

A similar project already has connected Aycock and Graham residence halls. Payne said the connection was well-received by the students.

"We think it is beneficial to the students who will be living in those (residence halls)," Payne said. "The facilities in the past were not as centrally located."

The $10.5 million renovation project is progressing as planned and has remained within budget demands, Payne said. The construction should be completed by summer 2003.

Other continuing major renovation or construction projects are located at the Health Science Library, the School of Dentistry, the School of Nursing, the Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center and phase I of the Science Complex.

Runberg said the work, which is a part of the University's long-term plan for campus growth, will cost an estimated $1.2 billion, which will come from a combination of private funds and money from the state's higher education bond program. "As far as I know, I am not aware of any program bigger in the country."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.