Four-month long project repairs Main Street storm drain
The construction on the Main Street sidewalk bordering the west entrance of the Jones Physical Science building is set to finish by the end of the month.
Workers have been involved in a four-month-long project to repair an underground storm drain connecting to downspouts from the building, according to Tom Quasney, associate vice president for USC Facilities Management. The storm drain, Quasney said, appeared to have sunk over time, causing the downspout to pull away from it. As a result, water washed out the soil and collapsed a portion of the sidewalk.
“We determined that it would be necessary to dig up the pipe, remove it and replace it,” Quasney said. “This also meant closing the sidewalk to allow for a safe working area.”
All told, the project will cost USC $249,000. The money came from a renovation reserve fund that students pay $40 into per semester, according to USC spokeswoman Margaret Lamb.
Bryan Nichols, a first-year physical chemistry graduate student, said he thought the construction had been going on for closer to a year.
“I was here last summer for research and they were working on it then,” Nichols said. “So they’re not doing it very efficiently, if you ask me.”
Quasney said it had been a complicated job to do while preserving the greenery on the site.
“We also were challenged to work with great care around the several very large trees to keep from damaging them,” he said. “At one area, we excavated using compressed air so as to not cut the tree roots. At another area we were able to place a liner in an existing section of pipe that was not beyond repair, so that we could avoid major excavation around the tree.”
The project is currently wrapping up, Quasney said, and the sidewalk should be back to normal soon.
“We have now completed replacement of all the storm drain pipe, and are in the process of rebuilding the planter walls and replacing the damaged sidewalk,” he said. “We anticipate the work being complete by the end of September.”
Some have complained about the noise, but students and faculty have been largely unaffected by the sidewalk construction.
“I practically live in Jones,” third-year psychology student Nora Demchur said. “The construction’s been kind of loud and obnoxious, but it hasn’t really affected me at all other than the noise.”
Gwendelyn Geidel, assistant director of the Environment and Sustainability Program, works in the second-floor Earth, Ocean and Environment Academics Programs office next to a window directly overlooking the construction outside.
“There are days it gets pretty noisy,” Geidel said. “But it benefits the building overall. I’m glad they’re getting to some of this deferred maintenance.”