Tuck Mall sidewalk project in the works
Construction of Tuck Drive will continue this spring as one of three ongoing building projects on the street.
By Kate Farley
Published on Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuck Mall residents should expect to rise to additional early-morning construction noise through late spring as a new sidewalk is installed on the north side of the street. Preparations for the cement path that will run the full length of Tuck Drive have torn up the land in front of the Tuck Mall residence cluster.
The initial construction process, in which large holes were dug out of the ground and then repacked with dirt, made it difficult for passersby to discern what was being built.
"Really, I don't have a clue," John Nolan '10 said. "What are they doing there, removing septic tanks?"
Nolan and Linda Cummins '10 agreed that the noise of the construction could be grating.
"It's really annoying when it wakes you up way early in the morning," Nolan said.
After learning of the project's goal to build a sidewalk, Nolan was supportive. He said that the presence of a sidewalk would likely improve pedestrian safety.
"On [Tuck Drive], someone once had to push me out of the way of a car," Nolan said.
Though the sign at the head of the street proclaims Tuck Drive to be a "private way ... for pleasure vehicles only," the roadway is trafficked by cars and students alike. Unlike other main routes on campus which have a cement sidewalk along both sides of the street, Tuck Drive has no immediately adjacent pedestrian paths.
Director of Residential Operations David Eckels said in an e-mail message that the College decided to place a sidewalk along Tuck Mall during the Fahey and McLane residence halls construction project. The new buildings were completed before plans for the sidewalk were fully developed.
In anticipation of the new sidewalk, the walkways connecting Fahey and McLane to Tuck Mall were left unfinished as rough gravel paths. They will be replaced with concrete walks at the same time that the sidewalk is installed and will connect to the new route.
The sidewalk construction is one of three ongoing building projects on Tuck Drive. Other projects include the restoration of Hitchcock Hall and the construction of the Tuck Living and Learning Center.
The labor is being completed by employees of L & M Service Contractors, an independent Hanover firm in conjunction with Facilities, Operations and Management. Representatives of Facilities, Operations & Management could not be reached for comment on the project.