About a dozen planned construction projects have taken over much of Ohio University’s campus, but an unforeseen break in the roof of a utility tunnel has taken the attention of many top Facilities Management officials.
OU utility tunnels carry steam for heating and cooling campus buildings, but distinct cracks have formed along 150 feet of tunnel underneath University Terrace and created a hole near the intersection of Park Place and Scott Quadrangle, forcing officials to close the street to northbound traffic last Friday.
“We felt strongly that it was necessary to stop vehicular traffic on that tunnel area and have engineers study it very carefully and give us a recommendation of what needs to be done,” said Harry Wyatt, associate vice president for Facilities Management.
OU hired an engineering firm, Pickering Associates, to survey the tunnel Monday. Wyatt said he expects a recommendation on how to fix the area soon, which might involve closing both lanes of University Terrace to traffic.
“I hope shortly we’ll have a recommendation from them and it’s quite likely we’ll be undertaking a repair this summer,” Wyatt said. “It’s one of those unforeseen situations and it just happened at a complex time when we’re trying to accomplish many things this summer.”
OU officials have started burying utility lines instead of constructing expensive utility tunnels, said Mike Gebeke, executive director of Facilities Management.
OU's utility tunnels have been in place since 1949. They’re “frequently checked,” for repairs, but Gebeke said he could not estimate how often.
Some tunnels are only 5 feet high, which might prevent a thorough inspection, Gebeke said.
The stretch of tunnel underneath University Terrace is now restricted to workers.
dd195710@ohiou.edu
