Students staying in Tuscaloosa during the summer semester should expect the portion of University Boulevard near Druid City Hospital currently under construction to stay that way all summer. Tim Leopard, Associate Vice President of Construction Administration, has said that section of University Boulevard will remain under construction until Aug. 1, when the University and the Alabama Department of Transportation joint plan is expected to be complete. McCorvey Drive will continue to see construction until completion of the new freshman residence hall is completed.
Other than these two roads, Leopard said that there will be no significant road changes that should concern summer students.
“We are limited in what we can do in a short duration,” Leopard said. “This won’t change too much.”
One significant change is that the University chose to recycle the concrete used at areas throughout campus. The University found that concrete recycling is a method with economic and environmental upsides.
“We try to be innovative when it is financially feasible,” said Leopard. “Recycling the concrete will save the University money and lower the amount that is sent to landfills.”
Along with road construction, the University has construction plans to improve and add buildings across campus. The construction of a new Tutwiler Hall is currently underway. The first step of constructing the hall is adding a new parking deck, which is scheduled to be finished by 2018.
Once the parking deck is completed, the University will hire an architect to plan the destruction of old Tutwiler Hall and the construction of the new one. To many who have lived in Tutwiler Hall, this move was much needed.
“I think the new Tutwiler is a necessary upgrade regardless of the amount of construction,” said Cavi Drake, a senior majoring in marketing. “Girls constantly had maintenance issues and I know a few who had mold in their rooms.”
Another area of focus for the University is the continued growth of the North Lawn area. Leopard said that a new food service will be added adjacent to North Lawn Hall. Renovations will be made to the Bryce Hospital main building, to University Hall on Peter Bryce Boulevard and to H.M. Comer Hall.
Over the past several years, enrollment at the University has ballooned thanks to the influx of out-of-state students. According to a recent feature in the New York Times, the number of students taking classes at the University has increased 58 percent since 2006.
