Hot water leaks on both Bobby K. Marks Drive and Avenue I caused the closures of both on-campus roads over the past few weeks.
Doug Greening, associate vice president for Facilities Management of Sam Houston State University, said that construction on Avenue I, also known to students as Cheese Circle located between the CHSS building and Academic Building IV, is coming to an end.
“There was a hot water leak at that location and we also made some adjustments to the chilled water line there,” Greening said. “The work is done in the hole and they’re working on filling the hole up and making repairs to the street right now.”
However, the more utilized through-street, Bobby K. Marks Drive which runs between the Newton Grisham Library and intramural fields, may take a bit longer to complete.
“On Bobby K. Marks we had a similar problem,” Greening said. “We had a series of hot water leaks. They went underground and got into some other outlets underneath the road so the road now is damaged—the road always has been somewhat settled in that area and the city has come over and overlaid it several times. We think that the hot water that came from our leaks got down into those caverns under the street and caused further problems in the street.”
According to Greening, the street’s closure, although inconvenient in the eyes of many students and faculty members, is necessary to enhance the safety of those who use the road.
“[The street is] just a little dangerous and there’s some real bad dips in it now where the pavement had settled into the openings underneath so that’s why the street is closed off right now,” Greening said.
Greening said he is coordinating with city officials to complete the project and ensure the safety of the site for pedestrians and drivers alike.
“We’re getting ready to fill in the holes and cover up everything,” Greening said. “We’ll be repairing the site in the parking lot that’s adjacent to those repairs and we’re in the process of working with the city now to get the road repaired and opened up. I don’t have a timeline—I’m still waiting for the city to get back to me. I told them last week and they haven’t gotten back yet.”
Check back with The Houstonian as more information becomes available.
