New Residence Hall Construction Nearing Completion

According to a timeline listed at the Department of Housing and Residential Education Web site, construction of the structure and outer shell of all four buildings will be completed between March and April, ending most of the visible construction that has disrupted students' lives for the past two years.

With little more than landscaping and generators left to add, contractors will soon be working on the halls' interior features, housing department Director Christopher Payne said. Details that will receive attention inside the halls include lighting, fire safety systems, the interiors of rooms and ceilings, he said.

Construction of the buildings is scheduled to be completed by early June. The rest of the summer will be devoted to adding furniture and placing the finishing touches on the halls just in time for the beginning of the fall semester.

"Right now, residence hall completion dates are still on time," Payne said.

Payne said keeping construction on schedule was mainly the result of cooperation between the housing department, construction management and the contractors. But with construction still going on around sidewalks and walkways for the next few weeks, officials maintain that students should keep out of construction sites to ensure their safety.

"We continue to encourage students to use designated sidewalks and crosswalks just because there's a lot of construction traffic along with the regular traffic," Payne said. "We're making sure that a sidewalk is passable at all times."

Despite attempts to keep students safe, many South Campus residents said they are displeased with the inconvenience and the noise that construction has caused in the past few months.

"Sometimes it's hard to get to class because there will be trucks and machines parked on the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to take alternate routes, which are sometimes very muddy," said Roslyn Johnson, a freshman living in Hinton James Residence Hall.

But inconveniences are not unusual, Payne said. "Whenever there's construction, there's going to be inconvenience," he said. "That is why we are concerned with pedestrian access and safety issues."

To many students, the greatest nuisance has been the early morning disruption of noisy machinery.

"Earlier in the year, my roommate and I were woken up every morning before 8 a.m. due to construction," said freshman Zach Rosner, who lives in Morrison Residence Hall. "It was so loud, it sounded like they were dropping bricks from 100 feet for the hell of it."

Although attempts to limit construction noise before 8 a.m. have been made, occasionally it is unavoidable due to the work schedule, Payne said.

Payne emphasized the importance of dialogue between students and the housing department. He said by students contacting the housing department through e-mails and phone calls, the department can better meet the needs of students and keep them safe.

"It's helpful when students utilize the network communication system."

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