Safety prompts construction over summer

Norwich University made many changes to the outside aspects of campus this summer because of safety concerns. Some of those changes included the repaving of parking lots and the rebuilding of certain stairways.

After trying to patch and fix staircases and roads from years of bad weather, Norwich made funds available to fix these problems and make the campus safe and beautiful again, according to facilities operations personnel.

Weathered roads and damaged staircases were ripped out and replaced. These changes now provide a safe means of travel across an extremely uneven campus.

One of the main focuses this summer was the Webb Hall parking lot and the road that connects this building to Plumley Armory.

"It was deteriorated badly," said David Magida, chief administrative officer of facilities operations at Norwich. "Funds were available to do the work this summer," Magida said, so the school decided to take on the project.

The funding for the new roads and parking lots did not come from money paid by student tuition or fees. The money from parking fines, vehicle registration fees and traffic violations fines are put into a fund over time.

These funds are used to make repairs when they reach an amount enough to cover the project.

"It always gets recycled to pay for road and parking lot repair," said Magida.

Other safety issues arose with many of the exterior staircases around campus. 

The problem originated because of "the harsh condition in the winter time and using salt and sand that deteriorates the stairs," said Bizhan Yahyazadeh, director of facilities operations and conference services.

Many staircases were redone, including the set connecting the Upper Parade Ground to the facility road and the stairs near Hollis House.

Though the stairs near Hollis House were still undergoing construction when the school year began, Yahyazadeh said that they should be fully completed within the week.

"The stairs needed to be fixed; they were uneven and they were starting to fall apart last year," said English professor Kathleen McDonald. "Especially with the snow it was a little tricky."

McDonald's office has been in Hollis House for five years now, and she is anticipating the opening of the new stairs due to a high demand for parking outside of Crawford Hall.

Students are also looking forward to the reopening, as they are now forced to find alternate means of travel while the stairs are being constructed.

"It's definitely nice that they are replacing those stairs," said Matthew Hernandez, 20, a junior communications major from Arlington, Texas "I think everyone has pretty much had a close call running down th