Sections of Blowers Boulevard, the main road through campus, will remain closed for an estimated six to eight weeks as sewer and storm drains are installed.
-Photo contributed by Ryan C. Harris
Christian Thompson
Reporter
November 18, 2005
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Sections of Blowers Boulevard, the main road through campus, will remain closed for an estimated six to eight weeks as sewer and storm drains are installed. -Photo contributed by Ryan C. Harris |
Real life dump trucks bigger than your childhood Tonka truck toys. An e-mail reveals Blowers Boulevard will be closed to all traffic beginning Nov. 15 as construction of the new Convocation Center draws near. And seemingly enough dirt to fill the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium creates more detours than MTV’s “Laguna Beach” does drama.
Milligan College is being transformed by construction, yet however obvious it is
construction is happening, the student body is unsure as to why the construction
is actually taking place.
“All I can really think of is a sewer system,” said junior Josh Ramos.
Junior Luke Rogers said he had no idea why there is construction along
Milligan's main road.
When asked what he thought the construction along Blowers Boulevard was for
junior Austin Turner said, “Some sort of utilities for the new building.”.
“We are putting in two separate pipes. One will be a 12-inch sewer line and the
other a 36- or 48-inch storm drain,” explained Facilities Service Manager
Jonathon Robinson.
Two laterals will come out of a manhole to connect these buildings, said K&K
Construction employee Jim Crawford, referring to the line connecting new sewage
lines to the library, Hardin Hall and Convocation Center.
“The storm drain will go all the way up to the corner of the road by the
(Student Union Building) to the lower (parking) lot,” said Robinson.
“All this we’re doing is for the new building,” said Crawford. “We’re updating
(Milligan’s) system.”
The whole process will take six to eight weeks. “The project is contingent upon
weather and utility relocations, water pipes for example,” said Robinson. With
no specific end date in site, Robinson brings relief for drivers when he says,
“The process is going pretty well.”
When the pipes have been put in, re-creating the road will be a two-part process
completed by Summers Taylor Paving.
“First, we will put down a binder coat, which is a thick layer of dense blacktop
and gravel mix that goes over a compacted gravel base. Once the binder coat has
been put down, the road will again be opened to two-way traffic,” said Robinson.
“The top (finish) coat will not be put down until the building is finished
because of the weight of the large construction trucks.”