LANCASTER — Ohio University is working its way through a long list of construction projects, with repairs to South Green catwalks and patio areas next on the agenda.
OU's Board of Trustees will vote on three consent agenda resolutions tomorrow involving needed construction projects. The other resolutions address the naming of several spaces owned by the university.
Some areas of the catwalks connecting South Green residence halls have recently been closed because of safety concerns, and OU is spending $740,000 to repair them. The funding comes from Residential Housing’s reserves.
“The catwalks were designed for the buildings themselves,” said Harry Wyatt, associate vice president for Facilities. “Entering the buildings without utilizing the catwalks is a bit awkward.”
The Resources Committee for OU’s Board of Trustees met in Lancaster yesterday and discussed some of the university’s ongoing and future construction projects.
The South Green catwalks were originally built because of the danger of flooding from the nearby Hocking River. There is a strong possibility that within the next 50 to 100 years, the area will flood, Wyatt said.
Trustee David Wolfort asked Wyatt how necessary the catwalks are to South Green.
“Catwalks don’t do anything to protect those buildings (from flooding),” Wolfort said. “Is the maintenance of the catwalks really worth having the catwalks?”
Wyatt explained that only the most essential catwalks are being repaired, adding that other catwalks might be closed in the future.
In addition, there are utilities infrastructures under some of the catwalks, making the continued use necessary until the advancement of the housing master plan, said Christine Sheets, executive director of Residential Housing.
The catwalk project will repair or replace some structural components, provide a deck coating to help reduce future deterioration and upgrade the guardrails to meet building codes, according to a presentation to the board.
OU is also repairing the patio area outside the Front Four residence halls — Brown, Pickering, Crawford and MacKinnon halls — on South Green. The project will repair or replace parts of the concrete walking surface, install waterproofing and fix some columns.
Culinary Services and Residential Housing are funding the patio project, which will cost about $1.6 million.
“We’ve been looking at a phased repair,” Wyatt said. “(The project) is funded by Residential Housing and Culinary Services because a good deal applies to Nelson Hall as well.”
The patio area stretches from the Front Four to the area in front of Nelson Dining Hall, which includes a dining facility. The university hopes to complete these construction projects by this summer.
Residential Housing also plans to spend about $550,000 on exterior painting of windows, porches and trim on some residence halls throughout campus. Those included in the project are Ryors, Treudley, Sargent, James, Wilson and Boyd halls on West Green; Pickering, Brown, MacKinnon and Crawford halls on South Green; and Read, Johnson and Washington halls on East Green.
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