A project aimed at replacing Binghamton University’s aging infrastructure by replacing generators manufactured in the late 1970s is close to completion, as the last phase is slated for completion during the first week of June.
According to Karen Fennie, a spokeswoman for Physical Facilities, the installation of new generators in College-in-the-Woods, Hinman College’s Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, Science III, the East Gym and a commissary near Physical Facilities are part of the final phase of the University’s capital plan 2003-2008. The generators, which are replacing older ones dating from between 1977 and 1978, power emergency systems, such as exit signs and fire alarms, when all other power has failed.
‘They [the generators] are designed to allow evacuations during emergencies,’ Fennie said, noting that the generators provide lighting in hallways to aid escape from a building.
The engines kept hallway lights and other emergency equipment running during a massive power outage two weeks ago when a branch, weighed down with snow, fell on power lines.
The generators also supply power for critical scientific equipment in the Science buildings, should the regular source of power fail.
The construction in CIW will replace the last of these generators, and Fennie said that, though the next capital plan (2009-2014) has not yet been fully developed, it too will focus on replacing and renovating the oldest equipment.
Construction for this project was forced into a hiatus during the winter, as the weather made it impossible to make progress. Contractors from the Nelcorp Electronic Contracting Corporation returned earlier this month to begin excavation for the CIW generator.
CIW residents must travel to other residential communities to play basketball, as the CIW basketball court has been blocked off due to its close proximity to ongoing construction.
Though students may feel inconvenienced, Fennie was adamant that it would be reopened by the fall.
‘It was closed because it’s so close to the construction site,’ Fennie explained, referring to the basketball court. ‘It will be reopened when construction is finished.’
The project was started in March 2006 and is scheduled for completion during the first week of June, she said.
In addition to the new generators in CIW, the plaza deck between the New University Union, the Engineering Building and the Glenn G. Bartle Library is currently undergoing construction, including the installation of a new waterproof membrane, lighting, planting and pavement.
Besides the revamping of the plaza deck, new surface tiles will be laid along the path between the New Union and Lecture Hall and have already been placed between the New Union and the Fine Arts Building.
The plaza deck renovations are set to be completed this summer, after BU officials pushed the finish date back from November of 2006.