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May 19, 2006 > News > Summer construction to begin on Hanszen and Inner Loop

Summer construction to begin on Hanszen and Inner Loop

By Risa Gordon | Thresher Editorial Staff

Facilities, Engineering and Planning is supervising 75 construction and renovation projects this summer. They include an upgrade of the heating and cooling system in Hanszen College’s Old Section and the replacement of the sewer system along College Way, the part of the Inner Loop that runs past the south colleges.

Project Management and Engineering

Assistant Vice President Doug Tomlinson said the number of summer projects is somewhat higher than in past years, but the total expense of the projects is similar.

“As people are starting to prepare for the growth of the university, more [projects] are coming that need to be done, so this is the first of several summers of increased activity,”

Tomlinson said.

The sewer system between Sewall Hall and Herring Hall will be replaced with a straighter line of pipes at a lower depth. Construction — rescheduled from last summer — will begin June 12 and, weather permitting, should mostly finish by Aug. 15, Project Manager Max Amery said. While the system is being replaced, College Way will be closed, and Laboratory Road — the part of the Inner Loop that runs past Keck Hall and Anderson Hall — will be a two-way street. Parking will not be allowed on Laboratory Road. Amery said FE&P will accommodate all essential deliveries to buildings along College Way.

The 80-year old sewer system will be re-layed deeper and in a straighter line than it is now, Amery said. A lift station will be put in at the corner of Alumni Drive and College Way to connect the new piping with the existing line in front of Baker Hall, Amery said. The lift station will raise the new piping from 15 feet to the 6-foot depth of the piping to which it will be connected.

The current two-pipe heating and air conditioning system in Hanszen’s old section will be replaced with a four-pipe system, allowing residents to control room temperature more precisely. The project, which began May 15, is scheduled to finish Aug. 5, Project Manager Eric Knezevich said.

Tomlinson said the project will cost about $1.1 million.

“[Hanszen’s] heating and air conditioning system is old and hard to repair,” Tomlinson said. “It didn’t lend itself to a lot of

occupant comfort.”

Knezevich said the carpet and some of the wood flooring throughout the college’s Old Section will be replaced.

Housing and Dining Director Mark Ditman said Baker College and Lovett College will be the next to receive the heating and air conditioning upgrades. He said only one college can receive air-circulation renovation each summer because each project takes up a large part of the yearly capital budget.

A four-person suite on the first floor of Hanszen’s old section will be remodeled to make it handicapped accessible. Ditman said the change is part of the plan to make as much of the campus handicapped accessible as possible.

Ryon Laboratory’s $10 million remodeling project will begin with the demolition of the wave tank in the building’s basement in mid-June and wall demolition to create dry lab space.

Several construction projects already in progress will continue over the summer. Cohen House’s three-year renovation will conclude with exterior renovations and kitchen work.

O’Connor House’s renovation will finish in June, and Alumni Affairs and Career Services will move into the new space in July. Fondren Library’s renovation will finish in the early fall, and most of the summer construction emphasis will be on the fifth and sixth floors.

Work on Anderson Biological Laboratories will continue with the completion of five greenhouses in August and the remodeling of the basement and third floor to create lab space. The third-floor project will continue into the fall. The construction cost of the project is about $4.98 million, Tomlinson said.

The improvements to Rice Stadium will be completed before

August. The Athletics Department is installing field turf and a new scoreboard, renovating the men’s restrooms on the west lower concourse and replacing some of the wooden bleachers with aluminum ones.

Senior Associate Athletic Director Steve Moniaci said the bleacher changes do not have a scheduled start day, but he anticipates construction will be completed before the start of football season. Athletics fundraising is funding all of the changes to the stadium.

While construction takes place, Rice stadium will be closed to runners and visitors.

Rice’s preparation for Hurricane Rita resulted in the discovery of other improvement needs. The windows in Baker College Commons and Alice Pratt Brown Hall’s organ hall will be replaced with hurricane-proof windows.

Ditman said Baker’s windows would be replaced because the building structure is strong enough to provide shelter for at least the residents of Baker who

may choose to remain at Rice during a hurricane.

“Baker Commons will be around for a long time, so it seems like that investment will make great sense because Baker needs a space like that,” Ditman said.

Ditman said new construction projects will include spaces designed to provide hurricane shelter.

Other work at the colleges includes minor pump work in the North and Wiess/Hanszen serveries, and replacements of thermostats, sinks and under-cabinet piping at Jones College.

Additionally, a dozen classrooms in George R. Brown Hall, Hermann Brown Hall, Herzstein Hall and Sewell Hall will receive technology upgrades.

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