While students have enjoyed their summer off, construction crews have been hard at work on WKU’s campus.

Bryan Russell, director of Planning, Design and Construction, gave the Board of Regents an update last Friday regarding the following projects on campus:

    •    Construction on the 26,000 square foot music hall is well under way. The building will feature a grand entrance and will have a limestone exterior. The building is equipped to collect up to 40,000 gallons of storm water runoff to use for irrigation purposes.

    •    The roof of the Environmental Sciences and Technology building, which was build in 1975, is being replaced. The replacement raised the insulation value of the building.

    •    Replacement of windows in Margie Helm Library will be completed by the time classes resume in about a month. A total of 99 windows have been replaced so far, and an additional 14 will be replaced. The new windows will be more efficient and will be coated to reflect the sun’s rays.

    •    At the top of the Hill, College Heights Boulevard has been resurfaced and is now two-way. A traffic –slowing island was also installed.

    •    The Creason parking lot, which has about 690 parking spaces, has been reconfigured to increase traffic flow and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Russell said the new configuration will be a benefit for events, especially the double-wide driveways. The project should be completely done by Monday.

    •    Historic rock wall features around campus will gradually be repaired and replaced. This summer, $150,000 will go to replacing failing walls, and the project will continue over several summers. Some walls are 60 to 70 years old, and repairing them preserves the historic look on WKU’s campus, Russell said.

    •    A “significant section” of work will be done to walkways and steps around campus in order to alleviate safety concerns. Last summer, about $100,000 worth of similar work was completed.

    •    Progress has been made on repairing the five steam distribution lines that completely failed last winter, Russell said. During repairs, the crew must deal with a number of other utilities, which complicates the process.

    •    The commons areas of Grise Hall have been renovated in order to “freshen up” the appearance. Russell said this was preparatory work for future renovations to Grise, which was built in 1966.

In total, about 80 renovation projects are being managed on campus this summer. Russell said projects are as small as replacing carpet to full-scale renovations.