Changes Are Good, Sometimes

That being the case, why would I want to write a column about construction on campus -- what remains to be said?

Well, for one thing, perhaps there is something to be done about it.

"Change is good," proclaim the propaganda posters designed to inform the campus community of the status of construction projects.

Another conclusion you've probably already reached on your own is that some changes are good, others not so good. And some are good, but not good enough to merit the inconvenience it would take to get them changed.

Let's assume, though, that the University knows what it is doing. Given the number of hours put into crafting the plan for changes to the face of campus, we have to believe those changes will bring enough good to the University to be worth the temporary evils of creating them.

So we accept that the Undergraduate Library and the Student Union were insufficient to perform their functions without the construction projects even now making the Pit a noisier place than ever. The next question concerns how the projects should be undertaken.

And here we encounter a problem: the aggravating property all the construction projects at UNC seem to have in common -- delays.

The projected completion of the addition to the Student Union building, which was supposed to be open all this semester, has been pushed back an additional two months. Now it will open by March, which pushes back the start of construction on the existing part of the Union until then.

That's the problem with those posters. It is excellent and commendable that the University attempts to let the public know how construction projects are proceeding. But after a while no one believes those posters. You might already not believe what they say about the Union addition being ready in March.

When every project deadline gets pushed back again and again, I expect two things: officials should learn to check their optimism when setting expectations for a new project's completion, and procedures should be re-evaluated to see if a more efficient process could prevent some of the delays.

The most recent delay to the Union construction, for example, was prompted by a badly constructed staircase that has to be destroyed and rebuilt. This is the kind of problem that should be spotted and corrected in a much earlier stage.

It is inevitable that unpredicted problems arise. Dust from construction on Murphey Hall, for example, has been posing a health risk to students, a problem that was not anticipated by planners.

It is surprising that construction implementation has so many problems, after all the time and effort that has been spent on the Master Plan. But it's an incredibly complicated situation.

All I can suggest is that now even more thought be devoted to improving the efficiency of these projects. We now have plenty of less-than-perfect projects, completed and still under way, from which to learn.

Officials should use those lessons -- planners should continue to work to improve the efficiency and safety of construction projects and the accuracy of updated information on project status.

Contractors should examine their procedures for possible ways of increasing efficiency.

Construction should not proceed during the most inconvenient times, such as early mornings or during exams. So far the University has done a fairly good job of meeting this goal.

But far more important than minimizing the impact of construction while it's on campus is getting it off of our campus. The point of construction projects is to get them finished so the benefit of change can begin. This is why construction should be accelerated during the summer, when fewer students are here. Increased efficiency would prevent summer projects from extending into the academic year.

For all these reasons,UNC needs to pay attention to construction until we can all get back to our lives.

Columnist Geoff Wessel can be reached at vrooom@email.unc.edu.